ktlight
26th May 2011, 09:16
FYI:
Psychiatrists working for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, entrusted with the health of children in state custody, accepted thousands of dollars from drug companies. While earning huge fees as speakers for manufacturers of anti-psychotic pills, the doctors also wrote prescriptions for psychiatric drugs for children in the DJJ system. The Palm Beach Post News broke the story of this medical conflict of interest which one former federal prosecutor calls "truly stunning and troubling."
Post reporter Michael LaForgia found that one in three of the psychiatrists who held contracts with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to treat children in the system also either accepted gifts from drug companies or appeared as a paid speaker for those companies. LaForgia's research revealed that the doctors prescribed anti-psychotic drugs prior to those drugs receiving approval from the FDA for pediatric use. One of the psychiatrists whose work LaForgia investigated wrote significantly more Medicaid prescriptions for children during the period he was working for the pharmaceutical companies. The combined pharmaceutical company payments to the four highest paid DJJ-affiliated psychiatrists totaled nearly $200,000.
The Post's story prompted Wansley Waters, the recently appointed secretary of the DJJ, to order an investigation into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to children in the state program. Citing the investigation, Waters declined further comment on the situation. However, Circuit Judge Ronald Alvarez, a 12-year veteran of the Palm Beach County juvenile courts, stated that "This is a serious, legitimate and possibly life-threatening issue that requires investigation, reformation and possibly prosecution."
source to continue
http://www.naturalnews.com/032524_psych_doctors_drug_companies.html
Psychiatrists working for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, entrusted with the health of children in state custody, accepted thousands of dollars from drug companies. While earning huge fees as speakers for manufacturers of anti-psychotic pills, the doctors also wrote prescriptions for psychiatric drugs for children in the DJJ system. The Palm Beach Post News broke the story of this medical conflict of interest which one former federal prosecutor calls "truly stunning and troubling."
Post reporter Michael LaForgia found that one in three of the psychiatrists who held contracts with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to treat children in the system also either accepted gifts from drug companies or appeared as a paid speaker for those companies. LaForgia's research revealed that the doctors prescribed anti-psychotic drugs prior to those drugs receiving approval from the FDA for pediatric use. One of the psychiatrists whose work LaForgia investigated wrote significantly more Medicaid prescriptions for children during the period he was working for the pharmaceutical companies. The combined pharmaceutical company payments to the four highest paid DJJ-affiliated psychiatrists totaled nearly $200,000.
The Post's story prompted Wansley Waters, the recently appointed secretary of the DJJ, to order an investigation into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to children in the state program. Citing the investigation, Waters declined further comment on the situation. However, Circuit Judge Ronald Alvarez, a 12-year veteran of the Palm Beach County juvenile courts, stated that "This is a serious, legitimate and possibly life-threatening issue that requires investigation, reformation and possibly prosecution."
source to continue
http://www.naturalnews.com/032524_psych_doctors_drug_companies.html