Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients in Science and Inquiry

Sep 28, 2019 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science, 2non-fiction, 1audio

I really liked another book by Goldacre, Bad Science, & his web site so I read this even though I'm not much for taking any medications. Woah, what a mess. Between this & Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions, I'm really discouraged by the state of affairs.

I've heard a lot of people denigrate Big Pharma for a variety of reasons. A lot of it sounds like a conspiracy theory, so I discounted it. The truth isn't somewhere in between as I'd thoug ...more

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Oct 07, 2015 Charlene rated it liked it

Shelves: constructs, medicine, decision-making

I didn't quite know what to expect with this book. After I read the title, I wondered if it might be driven by conspiracy theory. It was anything but. Goldacre focuses mainly on missing data-- how it gets lost, how its absence affects how trustworthy the findings are, and what that means for the subsequent care recommendations made from incomplete data. I remember learning about the file drawer affect in which papers that do not include a strong finding are never published, and thus kept out of ...more

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Jan 18, 2017 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Very little in this book surprised me but most of it made me feel dejected. As someone who has eaten and enjoyed many lunches sponsored by drug companies (in the clinic even the people with zero power get to share in the lunches in order for the reps to have access to the docs) I understand how the game is played but that doesn't make it any less disheartening to learn of how big the problem really is. I'm thankful for a rabble-rouser like Ben Goldacre and although it may be naive, am also thank ...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Gofita rated it it was amazing

Shelves: skeptic-book-club, science, medicine-health, critical-thinking, 2014-read, 2014-faves

Ben Goldacre puts out the evidence on how drug companies are really messing with evidence-based medicine and putting us all at risk. He describes in detail the way they manipulate studies, results, and deny access to these important findings. It's not a conspiracy theory just lots of things that have added up over the last 30-40 years that have allowed these bad practices to remain unchecked. He gives lots of advice on how to go about changing policies and talking with our doctors and other heal ...more

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