Dirty Thirty Update

Apologies for my hiatus in postings. I've been in California researching an article on the limits of functional neuroimaging for Wired Magazine. I interviewed Daniel Amen of the Amen Clinics, Joel Huizenga of No Lie MRI, Joshua Freedman of FKF, and Robert Rubin, chief of the Wadsworth VA Psych Department. Interesting trip--next up: interviews with Ryuta Kawashima, the inspiration for Nintendo's Brain Age game, and Roy Johns, a leader in the use of EEG brain mapping.

Regarding what this week's British Medical Journal is calling my "March of Shame," so far I've given grand rounds at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan (Dec. 12) and a talk for Tufts' Progressive Student Association (Dec 10). Okay, two talks in a month is not exactly sprinting out of the gates, but I have various other talks scheduled, including one for the Vermont Psychiatric Association and another for Eastern Virginia Medical School. I'll keep you updated.

My goal is to do thirty free counterdetailing talks in 2008. Here are the specifics. I charge no honorarium, but for talks that involve extensive travel (defined as requiring either a plane flight or an overnight stay) I am requesting reimbursement for these travel expenses. Accuse me of not being a purist, but I'm not interested in becoming a pauper over the course of the year. I expect most of my talks will be at local PCP offices, and this next week I will be calling the same doctors I visited in 2002 in order to offer them my counterdetailing services.

Payback Time: A Counter-Detailing We Will Go

I received many helpful suggestions for how to part with my "dirty thirty." I've decided that the most logical solution is to donate time to "counter-detailing," which is essentially the opposite of giving drug talks. Pioneered as "academic detailing" by Jerry Avorn at Harvard Medical School, counter-detailing involves visiting doctor's offices and teaching about evidence-based medicine. The emphasis is on confronting the latest marketing claims of more expensive me-too medications and alerting doctors to the subtle statistical deceptions so common in pharmaceutical advertising.

Reviewing my Wyeth pay stubs, I can replicate my 2002 March of Shame through local doctor's offices and counter-detail them on my own dime. Anyone who wants a free talk for their organization can contact me at drcarlat@comcast.net. I'll do these until my 30K runs out.

By the way, several physicians at the National Physician's Alliance (NPA) are available for free talks on pharmaceutical industry influence, and they span the specialties, offering counter-detailing on treatments in internal medicine, cardiology, pediatrics, etc.... And join NPA while you're on their site. Unlike the AMA, they will never sell your name to drug companies.