>> But forcing pharma and regulators to publish all trials, and fund independant on-the-job training will not lead to order of magnitude changes.
No, but it will allow people to make more informed decisions about what medicine they should take, and give a more realistic picture about its effectiveness. There is no justifiable reason to withhold trial data...
I quite agree and beleive that we should have all trials published openly. I think Goldacreas book is a good salient point in a tidal change coming. I am hopeful.
However my point was that the hyperbole was a little too much - Goldacre has a difficult tightrope to walk - to stir people up enough that he (sells books and) convinces them action is necessary, and yet does not actually go over the top and accuse a generally beneficial-to-society pharma industry of being one step above arms dealers.
I think he will pull it off and look forward to putting it on my Xmas reading list.
No, but it will allow people to make more informed decisions about what medicine they should take, and give a more realistic picture about its effectiveness. There is no justifiable reason to withhold trial data...