WebMD Depression Screening Test, Eli Lilly & Web MD investigated by Senator Grassley, Pharma, Pharma, Pharma!

The depression screening ad and "test" brought to you by Eli Lilly, makers of Cymbalta, Prozac, Zyprexa et al, has come into discussion once again by Senator Grassley, ranking Republican on the US Senate Finance Committee who has demanded transparency from the APA, NAMI, Joseph Biederman and Harvard, Charles Nemeroff, just to name a few.

From the WSJ:

"Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) is investigating ties between the pharmaceutical industry and WebMD Health Corp. (WBMD) after learning WedMD is running an advertisement on television that encourages people to take a depression-screening test sponsored by Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY).

Grassley wants WedMD, a popular resource for medical information online, to provide detailed information about its relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. In a letter to the chief executive of WebMD dated Thursday, Grassley said WebMD is seen as an independent, objective medical resource and the sponsorship from Eli Lilly raises questions about WebMD's "independence."
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From BNet

Jim Edwards has a series of articles and screen shots of the depression test, apparently being tweaked as it was investigated, so the results change again and again.

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Isn't it interesting that many doctors tell patients not to rely on the Internet for information, yet are directly influenced by Pharma reps, and the industry in general? The doctors often give patients a questionnaire to answer on how they are feeling (psychiatric topics) and many times these questionnaires/tests are printed by Shire, Lilly and the rest.

If you are truly going to take your health into your own hands, the best thing you can do is research before making a decision, and yes, that means read the Internet for stories like these, read the abstracts that are so-called peer reviewed, research the authors, and read the fine print....and you'll end up with the truth that the pharmaceutical industry does not want you to know. The industry is a billion dollar marketing campaign, directed at YOU for a profit, that's the real truth.
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My article from December 2009


Senator Grassley Seeks Financial Details From Medical Groups:NYTimes, NAMI

NYTimes

Senator Charles Grassley asks questions, again:

From the NYTimes

"A top Republican senator, Charles E. Grassley, has sent letters to the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society and 31 other disease and medical advocacy organizations asking them to provide details about the amount of money that they and their directors receive from drug and device makers.Such funding amounts are often considered proprietary by the organizations and their directors, but critics contend that the industry’s sway over such groups leads them to lobby on industry’s behalf."

"Earlier this year, Mr. Grassley sent a similar letter to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. In response, the group told the senator that more than two-thirds of its donations come from the pharmaceutical industry. In response to the disclosure, Dr. H. Richard Lamb, a board member for the alliance, resigned.""Mr. Grassley’s request that organizations provide details about the outside income of directors may cause some consternation. While a few large patient advocacy groups have provided general guidance about their reliance on industry, almost none has given such details about their leaders."

Are you thinking yet?

Further reading:

http://bipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com/2009/04/usa-fda-cannot-be-trusted-drug-approval.html

http://bipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com/2009/08/honesty-on-rocks-and-make-it-double.html

http://bipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com/2009/07/harvard-professor-starts-non-profit.html

http://bipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com/2008/09/thomas-laughren-md-fda-and-zyprexa.html

http://bipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com/2008/07/senator-charles-grassley-apa-open-your.html