Drugs

Some Tweeting Docs Have Industry Ties: Study

A small study of hematologists/oncologists found that nearly 80% of them who tweeted about drugs or medicines had financial conflicts of interest ranging from $100 to upwards of $1,000. Modern Healthcare says the study, which appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, reports that Twitter gives doctors direct access to cancer patients who are active on the social media site and follow oncologists who treat their cancer. “Unless conflicts of interest are disclosed,” Modern Healthcare says, “patients might not know if a physician tweeting praises about a treatment has received payments from that drug’s maker.”

Oregon Health and Sciences University professor Vinay Prasad, who is corresponding author for the study, says the researchers have yet to find an instance in which a tweeting doctor disclosed a financial conflict.

The doctors for whom the authors were able to find conflicts in publicly available data received a median general payment of $1,644.77 and a median research payment of $11,064.21. Of those doctors, 44% received more than $1,000 in funding from drug and medical device companies, Prasad says.

“Our results raise the question of how financial conflicts of interest should be disclosed and managed in an age in which information, interpretation, and criticism associated with cancer products and practices are increasingly available on social media,” he says. “As a minimum standard, physicians who are active on Twitter should disclose financial conflicts of interest in their five-line biography, possibly with a link to a more complete disclosure.”

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

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Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

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FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

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FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome