A few "distinguished" Harvard professors have been reportedly receiving money from pharmaceutical companies in transactions that violate federal and academic rules. According to "The Independent," The Harvard psychiatry department professors broke "conflict-of-interest rules by failing to declare millions of dollars in consulting fees from drug manufacturers."The most egregious part of this scandal is that one of the doctors involved is "world-renowned child psychiatrist" Dr. Joseph Biederman (pictured above).
Dr. Biederman and his colleagues have been the main advocates of approving "the use of previously unapproved psychiatric medicines in children." His work is also "held responsible for a 40-fold increase in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder." (Source)
An investigation by Senator Charles E. Grassley suggests that the world-renowned child psychiatrist's palms may have been greased to: (1) Expand the diagnosis guidelines of bipolar disorder, and to (2) Push psychiatric drugs on the diagnosed patient to "cure" the disorder. The implications of such an unethical payoff will have a perverse ripple effect on our society for generations to come.
[SIDEBAR: I will be following up on this story. For now, I suggest that people contact the office of the Senator involved in this investigation. Voice your concerns, and your interest in the outcome of this pertinent investigation to him].
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