SCAMS-R-US

[XenaLives]

A more recent article on the same subject, excerpt:

Many years ago, I was on a mission to understand the process of “standard of care”. As you likely know, insurance companies will only reimburse for medications and treatments that have received the designation of “standard of care”. My first step was trying to uncover who in fact makes the determination of which medicines or procedures should be considered as part of standard of care for any particular medical problem. It appears that a board is convened and they vote on possible new additions into the standard of care bucket. This search proved more challenging than I had anticipated, however. What I was able to uncover, is that physicians and researchers are part of this extremely critical and important board. When I scratched below the surface, I learned that those who I was able to identify as being on the board have financial or employment ties to the pharmaceutical industry. That inherent conflict of interest will prevent medicinal herbs and nutraceuticals/supplements from ever getting a foot in the door into this process, despite the dozens of clinical trials proving their efficacy.

The same holds true for repurposed drugs. The FDA does allow the “off-label” use of FDA-approved drugs and does not routinely require them to complete additional rigorous testing when used for expanded purposes. Approximately 20% of all prescriptions written on any given day are for the “off label” use of FDA-approved drugs.

It is important to understand that there is a tainted relationship with the truth which has negatively impacted our efforts to validate evidence-based medicine (EBM). Don’t take my word for it, rather listen to what the editors-in-chief of peer-reviewed journals have concluded about this issue. As you likely know, two of the most prestigious and respected peer-reviewed journals are the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the Lancet.

Harvard physician Marcia Angell former Editor-In-Chief of the NEJM said: “It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgement of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor.” Her 2005 book, The Truth About the Drug Companies – How They Deceive Us And What We Can Do About It is one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read. Be forewarned that it will change your views about our healthcare system as you realize the stranglehold the pharmaceutical industry has on every aspect of our health care.

Dr. Relman, another former Editor-In-Chief at the NEJM said this: “The medical profession is being bought by the pharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of the practice of medicine, but also in terms of teaching and research. The academic institutions of this country are allowing themselves to be the paid agents of the pharmaceutical industry. I think it’s disgraceful.”

https://michellerabinphd.substack.com/p/the-myth-of-evidence-based-medicine