My message: Ask the hard questions. The Association of Health Care Journalists annual conference (#ahcj13) covered a variety of topics, with lectures and panels followed by question and answer sessions. As with many conferences, it was tough to choose between competing sessions. I learned a great deal about health care, databases, and resources to help [...]

In earlier posts, we’ve looked at issues of consent, investigator responsibilities, and conflicts of interest on the case of Dan Markingson’s suicide while participating in a clinical trial of anti-psychotics at the University of Minnesota. This time, we turn to the University’s response. Not surprisingly, the University has claimed it has no responsibility for any [...]

There are many disturbing things that happened during the clinical trial on which Dan Markingson committed suicide. Besides the issue of consent, or lack thereof, which I raised in my last post, one of the most disturbing aspects to me has been the lack of accountability and the apparent violations of clinical practice standards, with [...]

Sometimes it seems like new drugs suddenly appear like magic. Have you ever wondered if there was something special going on behind the scenes? Earlier in Clinical Trials for Beginners, we looked briefly at why drug studies came into being, then at how a drug is developed, from test tube to your tissues. Let’s take [...]