Genetic Databases offers a timely analysis of the underlying tensions, contradictions and limitations of the current regulatory frameworks for, and policy debates about, genetic databases. Drawing on original empirical research and theoretical debates in the fields of sociology, anthropology and legal studies, the contributors to this book challenge the prevailing orthodoxy of informed consent and explore the relationship between personal privacy and the public good. They also con...

Drawing on insights from work in medical history and sociology, this book analyzes changing meanings of personalized medicine over time, from the rise of biomedicine in the twentieth century, to the emergence of pharmacogenomics and personal genomics in the 1990s and 2000s. In the past when doctors championed personalization they did so to emphasize that patients had unique biographies and social experiences in the name of caring for their patients as individuals. However, since the middle...

We all feel uncomfortable about the role of profit in healthcare, we all have a vague notion that the global $600bn pharmaceutical industry is somehow evil and untrustworthy, but that sense rarely goes beyond a flaky, undifferentiated new age worldview. Bad Pharma puts real flesh on those bones, revealing the rigged evidence used by drug companies. Bad information means bad treatment decisions, which means patients suffer and die: there is no climactic moment of villainy, but drug...

An essential book to understanding whether the new miracle cure is good science or simply too good to be trueAmerican taxpayers spend $30 billion annually funding biomedical research, but over half of these studies can't be replicated due to poor experimental design, improper methods, and sloppy statistics. Bad science doesn't just hold back medical progress, it can sign the equivalent of a death sentence for terminal patients. In Rigor Mortis, Richard Har...

How do we know whether a particular drug, therapy or operation really works, and how well? How reliable is the evidence? Are clinical trials truly unbiased? And is current research focused on the real needs of patients? Such timely and pressing questions are raised and addressed in this probing enquiry into modern clinical research, with far-reaching implications for daily medical practice and patient care.Aimed at both patients and professionals, Testing Treatments builds a lively and tho...

Doctors in Denial examines the relationship between the Canadian medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry, and explains how doctors have become dependents of the drug companies instead of champions of patients' health. Big Pharma plays a role in every aspect of doctors' work. These giant, wealthy multinationals influence how medical students are trained and receive information, how research is done in hospitals and universities, what is published in leading medical journ...

Leadership, expertise, and collaborative working are fundamental aspects of efficient and effective healthcare. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the general theories, principles and points of good practice in each of these three areas. This general literature is then contextualised by theoretical and practical implications for maternity care, and illustrated with in-depth case studies of successful innovation and change in practice.Essential reading for all midwives, mi...

Every year the average number of prescriptions purchased by Americans increases, as do healthcare expenditures, which are projected to reach one-fifth of the U.S. gross domestic product by 2020. In Drugs for Life, Joseph Dumit considers how our burgeoning consumption of medicine and cost of healthcare not only came to be, but also came to be taken for granted. For several years, Dumit attended pharmaceutical industry conferences; spoke with marketers, researchers, doctors, and pat...

Few things make people react more strongly to the changes going on in health care than the word standardization. Critics shudder at the mindless sameness of standards, while supporters dream of a world in which standardized "best practices" open up a world of efficient health care delivery. The Gold Standard takes up this debate to investigate the real meaning of standardization and how it affects patients, doctors, and the institution of medicine. Showing that standards are not a...

The Male Pill is the first book to reveal the history of hormonal contraceptives for men. Nelly Oudshoorn explains why it is that, although the technical feasibility of male contraceptives was demonstrated as early as the 1970s, there is, to date, no male pill. Ever since the idea of hormonal contraceptives for men was introduced, scientists, feminists, journalists, and pharmaceutical entrepreneurs have questioned whether men and women would accept a new male contraceptive if one ...

Nutrigenomics is the rapidly developing field of science that studies nutrient-gene interaction. This field has broad implications for understanding the interaction of human genomics and nutrition, but can also have very specific implications for individual dietary recommendations in light of personal genetics. Predicted applications for nutrigenomics include genomics-based dietary guidelines and personalized nutrition based on individual genetic tests. These developments have sweeping eth...

The phenomenal growth of global pharmaceutical sales and the quest for innovation are driving an unprecedented search for human test subjects, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. Our hope for medical progress increasingly depends on the willingness of the world's poor to participate in clinical drug trials. While these experiments often provide those in need with vital and previously unattainable medical resources, the outsourcing and offshoring of trials also create new prob...