Healthy Skepticism Library item: 19279

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: book

Rodwin MA
Conflicts of Interest and the Future of Medicine: The United States, France and Japan Oxford: Oxford University Press 20110
http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Politics/AmericanPolitics/PublicPolicy/~~/dmlldz11c2EmY2k9OTc4MDE5OTc1NTQ4Ng==

Abstract:

As most Americans know, conflicts of interest riddle the US health care system. They result from physicians practicing medicine as entrepreneurs, from physicians’ ties to pharma, and from investor-owned firms and insurers’ influence over physicians’ medial choices. These conflicts raise questions about physicians’ loyalty to their patients and their professional and economic independence. The consequences of such conflicts of interest are often devastating for the patients—and society—stuck in the middle.

In Conflicts of Interest and the Future of Medicine, Marc Rodwin examines the development of these conflicts in the US, France, and Japan. He shows that national differences in the organization of medical practice and the interplay of organized medicine, the market, and the state give rise to variations in the type and prevalence of such conflicts. He then analyzes the strategies that each nation employs to cope with them.

Unfortunately, many proposals to address physicians’ conflicts of interest do not offer solutions that stick. But drawing on the experiences of these three nations, Rodwin demonstrates that we can mitigate these problems with carefully planned reform and regulation. He examines a range of measures that can be taken in the private and public sector to preserve medical professionalism—and concludes that there just might be more than one prescription to this seemingly incurable malady.
Features
Puts the systemic weaknesses of the US health care system in global perspective.
First book to compare the effectiveness of strategies used to address conflicts of interest and to propose reforms based on assessment of what works and what doesn’t in several countries
Examines in detail an area of key public concern: conflicts of interest arising from physician ties to drug firms and other commercial interests.
Reviews
“Superb, comparative, fascinating…A valuable historical study which is also a major contribution to conflict of interest debates in US and international health care policy, suggesting practical alternatives for the future.”—Rosemary A. Stevens, Distinguished Scholar, Weill Cornell Medical College-New York City

“Rodwin turns a critical eye to the current proposals…suggests new directions for reform…[and] offers important advice that policy makers must heed if we are to restore trust in our profession.”—Jerome P. Kassirer, MD, Distinguished Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of New England Journal of Medicine

“A wise, powerful, broad-ranging guide to saving the relationship between doctors and patients. Conflicts of Interest is meticulously researched and beautifully written. It explores the past, illuminates the present, and points us toward a promising future. We ignore Marc Rodwin at our peril.”—James Morone, Professor of Political Science and Urban Studies, Brown University, co-author of The Heart of Power and author of Hellfire Nation

“Rodwin, whose earlier classic on medical conflicts of interest contributed importantly to the public debate, has deepened his analysis in a comparative perspective…He again enlarges and enlightens the debate and offers useful policy alternatives.”—David Mechanic, Director of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University

“This book specifies the ways in which both government and medical professionals and organizations must change if we are to adequately protect patients. Rodwin’s analysis is thoughtful and thorough; his recommendations can help guide us to more effective public policies.”—Thomas Rice, Professor of Health Services, University of California-Los Angeles School of Public Health

“A fitting sequel to Rodwin’s pathbreaking Medicine, Money, and Morals. His analysis of conflicts of interest in medicine in France, Japan, and the US is both fascinating and sensible.”—Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law

“The medical profession, the market, and the state exist in a delicate and dynamic balance. By explaining how this balance is maintained or lost in three countries, Rodwin is able to diagnose the ills of American medicine and suggest appropriate treatment.”—John D. Lantos, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri, and author of Do We Still Need Doctors?