“Drug Side Effects: The Hidden Epidemic”
Recent studies have made us aware that drug company cover-ups result annually in up to 2.7 million hospitalized Americans with serious adverse drug reactions and, of these, there are 128,000 deaths. A 2013, article entitled, “Institutional Corruption of Pharmaceuticals and the Myth of Safe and Effective Drugs” was published in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics (JLME) and reported that patients have suffered from a largely hidden epidemic of side effects from drugs that usually have few offsetting benefits. The drug industry has demanded shorter average review times and, with less time to thoroughly review evidence, increased hospitalizations and death have resulted. Additionally, top research scientists can be financially beholding to drug companies. A doctor’s code is “First, do no harm” and the vast majority strive to live up to this highly desirable goal.
