Ex-Bush FDA Reps Criticize Google On Health Search

The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI) has concerns about searching the Internet for health-related information, but we have concerns about CMPI. We noted earlier that CMPI has concerns about those searches. They dropped a report into the inbox titled "Insta-Americans: The Empowered (and Imperiled) Health Care Consumer in the Age of Internet Medicine." The group presented a look at searches for Crestor, a cholesterol medication; Avandia, a diabetes drug; teen suicides and Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs; and autism and vaccines. "The Web is home to many important sources of authoritative medical information including the National Institutes of Health, its related National Library of Medicine and medical specialty group web sites," said CMRI. "However they are rarely the sites that show up or are seen first." Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner and contributor to the CMRI report, criticized the heavy presence of lawyers, attorney referral services, herbal alternative treatments, and information websites run by people and groups "ideologically opposed to pharmaceuticals." Interesting stuff, to be certain. But when this kind of report drops over the external relations at FDA. In other words, a marketing position. An odd choice to head up something called Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. We had the naïve expectation a doctor or similar professional would be running the show. Curiouser and curiouser, we decided to poke this soft underbelly a little more. A link from