Research fraud case reveals weaknesses in oversight systems, author argues

In the past, Drs have had more integrity. But it is also true, in these days, that becoming a professor is almost absurd or impossible, due to many research papers to publish and the enormous amount of clinical work to do at the same time. In any circumstances that should not justify certain actions, and methods.

As an academic who studies and writes about human subject protection in quality improvement activites and an anesthesiologist and ICU physician, the thesis advanced could never stop data falsification as existed at Baystate Medical Center. The falsifications were picked up serendipitously when Dr Reuben submitted a poster abstract for a presentation in his hospital's science fair that lacked documentation that he had received Institutional Review Board Approval for his study. This led to a Baystate scientific auditor checking on this study and then others the doctor had previously conducted and published.

Thiese data falsifications are also the responsibility of other co-authoras who wrot and published papers with Dr Reuben. Many medical journals require all authors to attest separately that they had reviewed all the data and had substantively contributed to the paper. Most likely the FDA will review these matters even thought no federal research money was involved. The issues of conflicts of interest and drug company sponsorship is unlikely to be at the core of this medical Madoff style deception

Dear Ms. Cooney,

Quite a story! Any chance that you organization could publish something positive every so often about healthcare, and even about some one who has received "industry funding" and is not lying, cheating, or stealing, but has done something positive with such funding? Believe it or not, there are physicians and scientists funded by industry who still play by the rules.

Until the penalties far outweigh the rewards, transparency, institutional review, etc will only be partially effective. The cheater and the corporate sponsor should both face trial for fraud and the possibility of substantial financial penalties. The cheater should face fines equal to his IRS reported income during the years in question and the sponsor should be faced with suspension of all INDs as fines. Co-Investigators and co-authors should be held similarly responsible. The period of suspension would prove to be a substantial financial penalty as it would represent an expensive delay to marketing new products.

Academic institutions are at peril; The publish or perish demands leads to publication at any cost for promotion; How many academic professorships are based on , fraudulent data? Every insitution would have to investigate every Senior faculties papers to begin to answer; Meanwhile all promotions based on publications are suspect. Dr. in the system

Not only is it publish or perish, in order to exist as a researcher, universities demand salary support for faculty from federally funded agencies. It is an open secret that in many institutions scientists are fabricating data in order to obtain federal funding and thus survive. Most institutes only care about the dollars that each funded grant brings in. No matter how unfortunate, the trend of fabricating data continues to rise everyday, and practically nothing is being done to stop the trend. True science is losing its integrity in the midst of this "struggle for existence"..