Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Independence? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Independence!

MissingThingsThatMatter
BigMediaMattressVille


Here's a story that matters.

To all British Columbians.

Andrew MacLeod (again!) tells it in The Tyee.

Here's his lead:

An independent review of the Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia found the drug-review body's work should continue, with a few changes including a new name.


It also called the government's Pharmaceutical Task Force Report, which recommended disbanding the TI and led to the academic review, “Lacking in substantive evidence.” That report was written by a committee stacked with people with ties to the drug industry....



Now.

There are actually two stories here.

The first is that the Therapeutics Initiative itself, which makes evidence-based recommendations on drugs that the BC Government should subsidize in its various health care compensatation programs (and just as importantly which drugs it SHOULD NOT subsidize due to lack of evidence of effectiveness*), was clearly sabatoged by a 'Pharmaceutical Task Force' of Drug Cartel lackeys put in place by Mr. Gordon Campbell.

The second is how little big media coverage this story has gotten in the Pro-Media.

Sure, this stuff is complicated.

But so what.

After all, most important things are.

Complicated I mean.



____
*As opposed to the best advertising and influence peddling money can buy which, make no mistake about it, is directed both to the public AND the medical profession.
This business of complicated/important stories that get lost in the shuffle is something that Mr. Willcocks and I have discussed in the past, mostly offline, after he posted-up on the subject of the TI-Trashing in fine fashion....I promised him a treatise at the time.....I have yet to deliver (but still hope to do so).

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