Professor Joel Lexchin co-authors study on free journals and costly or problematic drugs

Medical publications distributed freely to health professionals often promote drugs that are costly or have potential problems, says a new study warning that such practices could influence which drugs doctors prescribe, wrote The Globe and Mail Feb. 28: Unlike medical publications that require paid subscriptions, free journals get most or all of their funding from […]

Professor Joel Lexchin: Health Canada should beef up drug-monitoring system

Health Canada did not pull a pain drug off the market until US officials made the decision to recall it, a move sparking criticism of the government's ability to act independently to protect the safety of Canadians from potentially dangerous medications, reported The Globe and Mail Dec. 3: Health Canada and Paladin Labs Inc. announced […]

Professor Joel Lexchin's co-authored study finds doctors not immune to pharmaceutical promotion

Pharmaceutical promotion may cause doctors to prescribe more expensively, less appropriately and more often, according to a new study co-authored by physician and York Professor Joel Lexchin. The findings, published Wednesday in the journal, PLoS Medicine, offer a broad look at the relationship between doctors’ prescribing habits and their exposure to information provided by drug companies. […]

Professor Joel Lexchin's report on Health Canada's drug safety system says it favours pharmaceutical companies

Health Canada’s drug safety system favours the interests of pharmaceutical companies, according to a report that says the department needs to do more to protect Canadians, wrote Postmedia News Sept. 20: In a paper produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Joel Lexchin writes that while some drugs will always pose risks for […]