APA Weighs in on Pharmaceutical Conflicts of Interest: 
Highlights Problems But Light on Solutions to Crisis

[Pharmola.com March 30, 2009] The American Psychiatric Association (APA), the professional organization that represents 38,000 psychiatrists in the U.S. and internationally, placed the responsibility for avoiding pharmaceutical company conflicts of interest squarely on the shoulders of its member psychiatrists.  In a commentary published in the APA's prestigious "American Journal of Psychiatry," the APA told its member psychiatrists that "Each of us must acknowledge—in the choices that we make—our own responsibility to limit conflicts of interest in order to preserve the integrity of the field that is so important to us all."  At the same time, the APA defended it acceptance of pharmaceutical advertising for the journal, but noted that there may be fewer pharma ads in the future due to decreased pharmaceutical industry spending for print advertising.   

The article, "Conflict of Interest - An Issue for Every Psychiatrist," noted that "Congressional hearings and articles in the New York Times or Boston Globe are far removed from our own practices," apparently referring to the cases, without naming them, of such leading psychiatrists as Dr.'s Fred Goodwin, Charles Nemeroff and Joseph Biederman.  However, in its commentary, the APA offered no major new initiatives or proposals to address the ongoing crisis of pharmaceutical funding that has been improperly accepted by researchers and leading experts, a situation that has led to numerous major investigations and had an impact on the public's perception of psychiatry. 

The article was published under the names of all 23 editors, editorial board members and contributors of the Journal, a list that includes numerous psychiatry luminaries: Robert Freedman, David A. Lewis, Robert Michels, Daniel S. Pine, Susan K. Schultz, Carol A. Tamminga, Nancy C. Andreasen, Kathleen T. Brady, David A. Brent, Linda Brzustowicz, Cameron S. Carter, Leon Eisenberg, Howard Goldman, Daniel C. Javitt, Ellen Leibenluft, Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Barbara Milrod, Maria A. Oquendo, Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, A. John Rush, Larry J. Siever, Patricia Suppes, Myrna M. Weissman, Michael D. Roy, James H. Scully, Jr., and Joel Yager. (Click here to read commentary as PDF file)