Ghostwriting: the Ethics Question
Posted by sparkprmarketing on September 22, 2009
Editors of medical journals around the country, including the venerable Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) have recently come to realize that a number of articles they’ve accepted for publication in the past few years were “ghostwritten” – that is, large portions were produced by professional writers and not the medical researchers whose names were listed as authors.
Here’s an article on the situation: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/business/18ghost.html?hpw
This has caused consternation, for good reason. If researchers are allowing marketers to write their material, medical realities can be skewed – if for no other reason, the marketers don’t understand the actual medical implications involved. The marketing writers may be told in broad strokes that a medicine is good for headaches, for instance, and write in glowing terms about it; but if they don’t know (and who would tell them) that there are side effects involving liver damage, how would that get in?
The researchers who allowed this are the unethical folks – not the writers, who are putting together what information they have.
I speak as a ghostwriter myself: writers are, as a whole, a pretty ethical bunch. We want to give the most complete picture, tell the full story, supply accurate information. This isn’t about advertising copy. This is about fulfilling an assignment for a medical journal.
The problem is that many commentators don’t understand the term ghostwriting. I’ve written white papers and journal articles on behalf of clients who were contracted to provide material but didn’t have the time or writing capability to do it. For instance, for a journal for professional nurses I’ve ghostwritten educational articles about best practices and the use of technology like Electronic Medical Records. However, I have never – and never would – write some fiction or skewed marketing piece about a pharma product and place it as though it came from a scientist. The very idea is offensive and I think potentially dangerous.
I hope the medical editors don’t issue some kind of blanket ban on ghostwriters but instead create a realistic and ethical policy.
