Monday, March 19, 2012

Dr. Carlat Goes to Washington To Head Pew Prescription Project

This will be my last Carlat Psychiatry Blog post for a while, as I have recently accepted a new job as the director of the Pew Prescription Project in Washington DC. My main job there will be to pull together a group of experts to review conflict of interest recommendations, and to work with various partner organizations (AMSA, Community Catalyst, and the National Physician's Alliance) to disseminate these recommendations to medical schools and teaching hospitals throughout the U.S.

Because my current job as owner of Carlat Publishing creates its own potential conflict of interest, I am in the process of relinquishing involvement in the company--hiring a new CEO, and placing any profits into an account which I can access only if and when I return to the company. Although I will continue to own Carlat Publishing, I will draw no salary from it, nor will I have any contact with the business in any way. I want to prevent any appearance that I'm joining Pew in order to increase my company's profits from non-industry-sponsored CME activities.

The Carlat Psychiatry Blog lives on in the form of Thought Broadcast, a blog written by psychiatrist Steve Balt, who is the new editor-in-chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report.

I thank all my devoted blog readers over the years, and I intend to continue writing and blogging about medical conflicts of interest issues and psychiatry--though not in the context of the Carlat "brand."

So it's goodbye for now.

In gratitude,

Daniel Carlat, M.D.