The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "pharmaceutical companies" ...
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C-HIT: Pharma Perks
The Affordable Care Act requires pharmaceutical companies to publicly report all payments to physicians by September 2013. Some drug companies have already compiled, but few consumers know that the information is available or how to access it. What this story did is disclose for the first time for CT consumers: 1) how many doctors in Connecticut are high-prescribers of certain psychotropic and pain medications, (108) 2) the cost of written prescriptions (hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases) 3) how many of these doctors received payments from drug companies (at least 43) 4) and the amounts that the doctors received from the drug companies ($30,000 - $99,000) It also reported that only 3 doctors on the high-prescribing drug list have been disciplined by the state Medical Examining Board.
Tags: Affordable Care Act; pharmacy; physicians; prescriptions; drugs; Medical Examining Board
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Cracks in the Empire: Inside Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson, the gold standard of corporate America for its single-minded devotion to its customers, is fending off federal, state and consumer allegations that the company harmed and cheated the ill. The Press found that the New Brunswick, NJ-based copmany set its sights in the last decade on making record profits but at a high cosst. Its main OTC pain reliever company was shut down in part for being too dirty. Thousands of hip replacement patients say the device failed inside their bodies, causing them great pain.
Tags: Johnson & Johnson; pain relievers; drugs; pharmaceuticals
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"Physicians on Pharma's Payroll: Educators or Marketers?"
This story focuses on doctors as industry speakers and their relationship with pharmaceutical companies. The pharmaceutical companies claim to choose speakers based on expertise, but further investigation shows that many of the hired physicians have "serious transgressions on their state records." They also tend to be "high prescribers" of the company's products.
Tags: pharmacy; prescriptions; Geodon; Pfizer; antipsychotic drugs; pharmaceutical companies; Department of Health; New York; Food and Drug Administration
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Dollars for Docs
The series investigates the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and the physicians they pay to serve as their speakers and consultants. ProPublica created a searchable database on its website that allows members of the public to see whether their doctors have been paid by one of seven pharmaceutical companies.
Tags: pharmaceutical companies; drugs; drug sales; widget; speakers
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Side Effects
The author examines the conflicts of interest within the medical community and the influence of pharmaceutical companies on doctors and researchers. The series shows the dangerous consequences that come when drug companies pay doctors and researchers to endorse their products. An inquiry by a U.S. Senate committee, as well as policy reform at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health were results of this investigation.
Tags: pharmaceutical companies; drug companies; medicine; conflict of interest; doctors
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Bad Bargain
This article identifies several people who suffered consequences after switching from brand name drugs to generic ones. Furthermore, this article identifies loopholes that allow these generic drugs to reach the market. These generics, many of us believe are the same as the brand name ones, are actual substandard and un-equivalent.
Tags: Prescriptions; Drugs; Generic; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Insurance companies; Brand Name; Doctors; Pharmacy; Pharmaceuticals
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"Big Pharma's Crime Spree"
David Evans investigates the criminal activity of some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Drug companies are fined billions of dollars for illegally marketing their products, yet continue to do it. Evans asks why.
Tags: Pfizer; Eli Lilly; pharmaceutical; FDA; drugs; Zyprexa; medicaton
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Prescription for Trouble: Common drugs, hidden dangers. Tens of millions of people at risk.
This article investigated twelve common types of prescription drugs that are linked to serious risks, including heart attacks, cancer, strokes and suicide. The risks were undetected or underestimated when the drugs were initially approved for use. Many of the drugs are still not properly disclosing the risks in advertisements. The article uncovers widespread problems in the drug safety system and proposes needed reform.
Tags: medicine; drugs; FDA; health; drug companies; FOIA; side-effects; Food and Drug Administration; pharmaceuticals
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The Hundred Year Lie: How Food and Medicine are Destroying Your Health
This book "shatters dozens of myths being perpetuated by the chemical, pharmaceutical, and processed foods industries. It shows how early advances led to a buildup of industry, and how the profit motive then led companies and even our own government to ignore troubling signs of widespread illness and disease.
Tags: health sciences; nutrition; chemicals; public health; FDA; toxins
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Suddenly Sick
In this series, The Seattle Times revealed their findings from an investigation into the medical world. Among other things, they found that: "Pharmaceutical firms have commandeered the process by which diseases are defined." They reported that the World Health Organization and the U.S. Institutes of Health, among others, receive money from drug companies to promote the agendas of those companies. They also found that "some diseases have been radically redefined without a strong basis in medical evidence."
Tags: medicine; doctors; physicians; medical industry; hospitals; health; pharmaceutical; WHO; NIH; National Institute of Health