Three papers in the August issue bring new light to the problem of medical ghostwriting: the failure to name, as an author, an individual who has made substantial contributions to an article. Two of these articles offer remedies that the PLoS Medicine Editors in this month’s editorial argue must be seriously considered given the evidence of wider “ghost management” of the medical literature and the fact that current attempts to reduce ghostwriting are not succeeding. A Policy Forum by Simon Stern and Trudo Lemmens argues that the related problem of “guest authorship” — claiming credit for an article written by someone else — constitutes “legal fraud” and that the “same fraud could support claims of ‘fraud on the court’ against a pharmaceutical company that has used ghostwritten articles in litigation.” A Perspective by Alistair Matheson, an academic and commercial consultant, proposes fundamental revision of the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) guidelines to give the concept of origination as much importance as authorship and contributorship, and proposes that writers and companies who work on industry publications should be listed as byline authors. Another Perspective by Linda Logdberg describes her personal experience of working in the medical communications industry and how she participated in ghostwriting until she came across an example that clashed with her personal beliefs. A collection launched this month brings together articles on ghostwriting previously published in PLoS Medicine and PLoS ONE. For PLoS Medicine’s involvement in 2009 in the litigation relating to the Prempro ghostwriting case, see the Wyeth Ghostwriting Archive.
Image Credit: fotologic at flickr.com
Editorial
Ghostwriting Revisited: New Perspectives but Few Solutions in Sight
PLOS Medicine: published August 30, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001084
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Essay
Four Arguments against the Adult-Rating of Movies with Smoking Scenes
PLOS Medicine: published August 23, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001078
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Perspectives
Can Mobile Phone Data Improve Emergency Response to Natural Disasters?
PLOS Medicine: published August 30, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001085
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Being the Ghost in the Machine: A Medical Ghostwriter's Personal View
PLOS Medicine: published August 9, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001071
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How Industry Uses the ICMJE Guidelines to Manipulate Authorship—And How They Should Be Revised
PLOS Medicine: published August 9, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001072
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Policy Forums
Building the Field of Health Policy and Systems Research: Framing the Questions
PLOS Medicine: published August 16, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001073
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Building the Field of Health Policy and Systems Research: Social Science Matters
PLOS Medicine: published August 23, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001079
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Building the Field of Health Policy and Systems Research: An Agenda for Action
PLOS Medicine: published August 30, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001081
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Legal Remedies for Medical Ghostwriting: Imposing Fraud Liability on Guest Authors of Ghostwritten Articles
PLOS Medicine: published August 2, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001070
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Government Inaction on Ratings and Government Subsidies to the US Film Industry Help Promote Youth Smoking
PLOS Medicine: published August 23, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001077
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Research Articles
Are HIV Epidemics among Men Who Have Sex with Men Emerging in the Middle East and North Africa?: A Systematic Review and Data Synthesis
PLOS Medicine: published August 2, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000444
Serological Testing Versus Other Strategies for Diagnosis of Active Tuberculosis in India: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
PLOS Medicine: published August 9, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001074
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Commercial Serological Tests for the Diagnosis of Active Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
PLOS Medicine: published August 9, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001062
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Population Density, Water Supply, and the Risk of Dengue Fever in Vietnam: Cohort Study and Spatial Analysis
PLOS Medicine: published August 30, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001082
Neonatal Mortality Levels for 193 Countries in 2009 with Trends since 1990: A Systematic Analysis of Progress, Projections, and Priorities
PLOS Medicine: published August 30, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001080
Changes in Drug Utilization during a Gap in Insurance Coverage: An Examination of the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap
PLOS Medicine: published August 16, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001075
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Reporting Guidelines for Survey Research: An Analysis of Published Guidance and Reporting Practices
PLOS Medicine: published August 2, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001069
Improved Response to Disasters and Outbreaks by Tracking Population Movements with Mobile Phone Network Data: A Post-Earthquake Geospatial Study in Haiti
PLOS Medicine: published August 30, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001083
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Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Policy Élites: An Analysis of Tobacco Industry Documents
PLOS Medicine: published August 23, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001076