Psychology in the prescription era: building a firewall between marketing and science.
The pharmaceutical industry has contributed to many life-saving innovations in medicine and has become one of the most successful industries in the world. As a result, pharmaceutical industry financial and marketing influences extend to federal regulatory agencies, professional organizations, medical journals, continuing medical education, scientific researchers, media experts, and consumer advocacy organizations. These extensive influences have created conflicts of interest that have undermined the credibility of medical research and education. As professional psychology pursues and achieves prescription privileges, it will likely be faced with increasing influences from the industry. To preserve the integrity of psychological science, the authors propose an aspirational "firewall" designed to separate industry marketing from the science of psychology.
Antonuccio
David O
DO
Veterans Affairs Sierra Nevada Health Care System and University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, NV 89503, USA. oliver2@aol.com
Danton
William G
WG
McClanahan
Terry Michael
TM
D000329:Advertising; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D004345:Drug Industry; D035082:Federal Government; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011584:Psychology / Q000639:trends*; D012586:Science / Q000639:trends; D012952:Societies