A medication commonly prescribed for nausea in pregnancy was approved in part based on a 40-year-old study with a major flaw, as revealed by a recent reanalysis of the old study. The drug pyridoxine-doxylamine is sold in Canada under the brand name Diclectin (Diclegis in the United States), is the rebranded version of an earlier medication called Bendectin. The old study is known as "the eight-way … [Read more...]
Medical Debate Belongs in the Public Space
In a commentary published yesterday in Medscape, Dr. John Mandrola argues convincingly that "more than ever we should encourage skepticism and debate among our patients and colleagues. Great scientific results stand on their own" and upholds the view that in 2016 medical debate belongs in the public space, not confined to the flawed peer-reviewed scientific publications. Read more... … [Read more...]
‘We’ve been deceived’: Many clinical trial results are never published
About half of clinical trial results are never published, leaving valuable information unavailable. Every year, thousands of Canadians sign up to participate in clinical trials, offering their bodies to further the development of important medical advances like new drugs or devices. But the results of many of those trials never see the light of day. A new online tool aims to put pressure on … [Read more...]
A Better Prescription: Advice for a National Strategy on Pharmaceutical Policy in Canada
This Healthcare Policy essay presents what we believe to be a compelling framework for a renewed national strategy for pharmaceutical policy in Canada. Building on published research and international frameworks, they propose that pharmaceutical policies of federal, provincial, and territorial governments be coordinated around a clear, health-focused goal and four inter-related pharmaceutical … [Read more...]
Ten Commandments for patient-centred treatment
We published our "Ten Commandments for patient-centred treatment" in the British Journal of General Practice and created a web site dedicated to this common sense approach to doing the right thing when considering treatment: http://www.therapeuticcommandments.org Lehman R, Tejani AM, McCormack J, Perry T, Yudkin JS. Ten Commandments for patient-centred treatment. British Journal of General … [Read more...]
Right Care Alliance: explainer video
WATCH THE VIDEO The Lown Institute has launched the RightCare Alliance to create a grassroots movement of clinicians, patients, and community leaders to demand and create change to the healthcare industry, from the ground up. To create a system that sees all patients as people, not profits, a system that gives everyone the access to care that they deserve, a system that gives patients the RIGHT … [Read more...]
Incretin based drugs and the risk of pancreatic cancer
In this large population study co-authored by Therapeutics Initiative researcher Dr. Colin Dormuth, "the use of incretin based drugs was not associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared with sulfonylureas. Although this potential adverse drug reaction will need to be monitored long term owing to the latency of the cancer, these findings provide some reassurance on the safety of … [Read more...]
Sharing Clinical Trial Data: A Proposal From the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
Last Wednesday, the editors of the leading medical journals around the world made a proposal that could change medical science forever. The editor's stance, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is that researchers must make public all study data in order to publish results in their journals. The authors argued that widespread data sharing will increase trust in study results and … [Read more...]
Warning about common pain drugs
UBC researchers issued a warning this week about the limitations of drugs commonly used to treat chronic pain. The Therapeutics Initiative’s latest bulletin for British Columbia’s prescribing physicians and pharmacists focuses on four drugs — gabapentin, pregabalin, duloxetine, venlafaxine — that are popular for treating such conditions as peripheral neuropathy, post-shingles pain, … [Read more...]
Spilling the beans: Failure to publish the results of all clinical trials is skewing medical science
An article published in the Science section of the July 25th, 2015 print edition of The Economist examines how failure to publish the results of all clinical trials is skewing medical science. Some estimates suggest the results of half of clinical trials are never published. These missing data have, over several decades, systematically distorted perceptions of the efficacy of drugs, devices and … [Read more...]
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