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Title details for Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre - Available

Bad Pharma

How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients

by Ben Goldacre
Jonathan Cowley
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Medicine is broken. We like to imagine that it's based on evidence and the results of fair tests. In reality, those tests are often profoundly flawed. We like to imagine that doctors are familiar with the research literature surrounding a drug, when in reality much of the research is hidden from them by drug companies. We like to imagine that doctors are impartially educated, when in reality much of their education is funded by industry. We like to imagine that regulators let only effective drugs onto the market, when in reality they approve hopeless drugs, with data on side effects casually withheld from doctors and patients.
All these problems have been protected from public scrutiny because they're too complex to capture in a sound bite. But Dr. Ben Goldacre shows that the true scale of this murderous disaster fully reveals itself only when the details are untangled. He believes we should all be able to understand precisely how data manipulation works and how research misconduct on a global scale affects us. In his own words, "the tricks and distortions documented in these pages are beautiful, intricate, and fascinating in their details." With Goldacre's characteristic flair and a forensic attention to detail, Bad Pharma reveals a shockingly broken system and calls for something to be done. This is the pharmaceutical industry as it has never been seen before.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 5, 2013

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781452691695
      • File size: 343101 KB
      • Duration: 11:54:47

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners to this audiobook will likely feel betrayed by pharmaceutical companies--who manipulate test results so only favorable tests are made public--and by government regulators--who rubber-stamp these specious findings and fail to properly monitor or investigate. The result is that consumers and doctors are misled. For example, the author, a physician, describes how he has prescribed medicines, unaware of the shoddy testing of them as well as their undisclosed side effects and contraindications. Although the book's content is absorbing, some of the material--particularly the statistical information--may not be ideal for the audiobook format. The author is a popular lecturer and Internet blogger, and narrator Jonathan Cowley channels his emphatic tone and English accent. (Cowley also narrated Goldacre's previous book.) The high-density onslaught of information will prove convincing for some while others may find the insistent tone fatiguing. R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 14, 2013
      In this searing exposeÌ of the pharmaceutical industry, physician and journalist Goldacre (Bad Science) uncovers a cesspool of corrupt practices designed to sell useless ordangerous drugs to an unsuspecting public. His main focus is the distortion of the science on which evidence-based medicine relies: drug companies, he argues, deploy deliberately biased clinical trials and twisted statistics to exaggerate their drugsâ benefits, while suppressing countless studies that show negative results or deadly side effects. Big Pharmaâs malign influence doesnât stop there, he contends; doctorsâ prescribing practices are determined not by patientsâ needs but by the insidious bribes and blandishments of sales representatives, the industryâs ubiquitous "educational" programs, and fake research articles, journals, and even textbooks signed by independent academics but authored by industry-hired ghost writers. Goldacreâs indictment fingers many culpritsâprofit-hungry industry executives, lax regulatory agencies that collude in hiding crucial information from the public, and complaisant journal editors and university officials who put their imprimatur on blatant misconduct. Drawing on a wealth of research but writing squarely for laypeople, Goldacre conveys complicated scientific, medical, and ethical issues in simple, clear, plainspoken language that pulls no punches. The result is a smart, infuriating diagnosis of the rotten heart of the medical-industrial complex. Agent: ZoeÌ Pagnamenta, the ZoeÌ Pagnamenta Agency.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 29, 2013
      In his latest, British physician and author Goldacre tackles the misdeeds of the pharmaceutical industry. As Goldacre presents a laundry list of flawed research projects, narrator Jonathan Cowley handles the author’s academic style with ease, never missing a beat. His precise annunciation matches the seriousness of the issues at hand, and he successfully balances the shifting tones of the narrative. Yet, as Goldacre recounts his adventures uncovering greed and corruption, Cowley ably takes on the author’s populist persona. Cowley especially entertains in sections devoted to industry schmoozing and networking, providing doses of humor to help bring home the author’s underlying messages. And if technical and scientific sections of the book make for a sometimes-demanding listening experience, Cowley’s winning reading helps broaden the appeal. A Faber & Faber hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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