NAMI of Massachusetts Reports Low Pharmaceutical Company Contributions
December 7th, 2009
A rising concern among the mental health professions in the past few years has been the prevalence of psychiatric medications among those with mental health issues. From over-prescription to the suggestion that major pharmaceutical companies conduct questionable advertisement campaigns and other practices to lure doctors and clients alike, the issue has sparked considerable contention. Helping to dissuade the notion that such companies are outright running the modern face of mental health, however, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts has released a report stating that less that fifteen percent of its donations come from drug companies. The report, released on Tuesday to a congressional investigation committee, notes that the organization refuses all donations from parties that make requests about how the money should be spent. Though doubts about the industry are likely to persist, the report may help ease the worries of some concerned community members.
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Comments
It feels extremely good to be reading this, to know that companies cannot just pay money to portray themselves and their products to be better than or more important than what they really are. It is good and such disclosures should be made more often :)
Sad that these companies that have so much are willing to contribute so little
I think it’s shocking that drug companies can make demands on how it’s spent at all! Donations should come with no strings attached. Otherwise it’s closer to a bribe in my book.
Whether the companies expressly request a say in where the money goes or not, I cannot believe that their views would not be made known about what they would be more supportive of than not. They would just be more subtle about that.
Why is the law not changed and it made illegal to accept donations from drug companies at all? That would stamp out any obligations that organizations would feel towards them and they could spend it in whatever manner they choose.
If it were made illegal for drug companies to make donations, how long would some of these groups survive that rely on those contributions? Will you fund them? Look at the good the groups do and how much that would be impaired with less money to spend.
I think rather than debating whether drug companies should be allowed to make donations or not, we should pursue for a transparency in the financial details of such organizations, and keep a check on the total donations being given by a single drug company.
Maybe there needs to be a policy to monitor the utilization of such donations because it has a big impact on people’s health…?
This is an encouraging thing to know… in a time when almost no report can be trusted upon, this comes as a breath of fresh air.
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