- news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/12/the-selling-of-oxycontin/
- news.nationalpost.com/2011/04/02/zamboni-says-no-conflict-in-applying-for-ms-patents/
- ADHD story no longer active on web site
- news.nationalpost.com/2011/09/19/demand-high-but-medical-specialists-not-finding-work-in-canada/
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
– November 12 – September 19 – April 9 – April 2
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
– Marketing of OxyContin: Unlike in the United States, the role played by Purdue in the booming sales of this drug, and the related abuse and addiction problems, has been little reported. This investigative story lays out in detail the various methods the company used to convince Canadian doctors to prescribe a powerful narcotic to a broad range of patients. – Zamboni’s commercial ties: Dr. Paolo Zamboni’s theory of the causes and treatment of multiple sclerosis have turned the MS community inside out, prompting thousands of Canadian patients to seek the treatment off shore, despite a lack of strong scientific evidence behind it. Supporters say his work has been dismissed by MS neurologists because of their ties to Big Pharma. This investigative story revealed for the first time that Dr. Zamboni had strong commercial interests in his own research before it came to the fore, casting a new light on his motivations. A sidebar that ran the same day is also included. – Doctor Unemployment: If there is one flaw that most Canadians point to in their health-care system it is long wait times and a shortage of doctors. This story uncovers a baffling problem: newly trained specialists who cannot find work. The possible reasons are almost as surprising. – ADHD drugs on campus: It is a problem that has been well documented in the U.S. but has received relatively little attention here. This story exposed, however, how Adderall and other ADHD drugs have become common study aids on Canadian campuses, raising safety and ethical issues that universities have so far ignored. Includes interviews with student users of the drugs.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
– OxyContin: Court documents, journal articles, company-funded text books, discontinued advertising, trade-industry ethics rulings, company web sites, pain-clinic web sites, internal University of Toronto conflict-of-interest rulings, IMS sales data, coroner’s office records and statistics, government addiction and help-line statistics, Linked-In profiles. – Zamboni: Patent records, company web sites, journal articles, MS-treatment clinic web sites. – Unemployed doctors: Survey results. – ADHD drugs: Journal articles.
Explain types of human sources used.
– OxyContin: Former Purdue employees, physicians, Purdue spokespeople, OxyContin-abuse victims, coroners. – Zamboni: Doctors in Italy and Canada, ethics professors, company representatives. – Unemployed doctors: Physicians, regulatory agency employees, trainees. – ADHD drugs: Student users of drugs, psychiatrists, university officials
Results:
– OxyContin: prompted discussion of little-talked-about issue; doctor on Purdue speakers’ bureau devoted an episode of his radio show to the topic – Zamboni, unemployed doctors, ADHD drugs: Extensive discussion of the issues, follow up by other media outlets.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
n/a
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
For most of these stories, I canvassed a variety of sources – human, documentary and online, and found that one often led to the other. A useful document or report triggered an interesting interview, and vice versa. eg. I entered the name of a pain doctor with ties to Purdue in a newspaper archive, and discovered an op-ed piece in which she extolled the virtues of OxyContin. I discovered that Linked-In is very helpful in tracking down former employees of an organization or company. Some of the profiles even include useful information about the individual’s former employer. In Canada, there is relatively little public information on the financial ties doctors have with pharmaceutical companies, but persistent searching – such as in author information for journal articles and practice guidelines – can often turn up at least cursory information.