arnold relman

In his recent review of Dr Ezekiel Emanuel's book, (Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America,) Dr Arnold Relman, Editor-Emeritus of the New England Journal of Medicine, discussed the history of the deprofessionalization of American physicians.

We recently blogged about Dr Marcia Angell's commentary about how the increasing influence of those with vested interests in selling products or services has "broken" the clinical research system.

In the same issue of JAMA were two other commentaries.

This week's Journal of the American Medical Association (3 September, the paper version of which seems to arrive early at my house) is notable for having three commentaries on relationships among physicians, academic medicine, and industry.

One, by David Rothman and Susan Chimonas, seemed rather optimistic, while two, by Dr Arnold Relman and by Dr Marcia Angell, were quite dark.