Earlier this summer we had written AAMC and Prescription Project –Telling the Future about how the Prescription Project had received advance copies of the AAMC Taskforce on Industry Support for Medical Education report from which the Prescription Project wrote their implementation tool kit (released in advance of the AAMC report). Also, we asked how was the NY Times able to write a story about the report for the Sunday newspaper in advance of the release of the report?
It was told to me by several members of the Taskforce that all copies were “strictly” confidential. At the time I had not put two and two together. The AAMC Taskforce was funded by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation. This is the same Macy Foundation that brought us the Macy Conference – Missed Opportunity. The mystery is over.
So what does this have to do with IOM? Last week I attended a conference in which one of the speakers is member of the the Institute of Medicine report on Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education and Practice committee and he was going on and on about how the IOM works and about their meetings, and how the report is written. It was impressive; the levels of review that the report goes through.
At the end of the presentation, he mentioned that it is IOM policy that the sponsors get 10 days to review the reports prior to their release to the public.
The sponsors of the IOM report include “The Macy Foundation.” So in March 2009 when the report is expected, we can look forward to journal articles, press releases, press kits, kits for universities, NY Times articles … all geared to a specific agenda.
Now we know the mystery of the crystal ball.