- Prescribing Advice for GPs - https://www.prescriber.org.uk -

Viewpoints on ghostwriting

PLoS Medicine has published an article that debates the place of ghostwriting in medical literature.

Three viewpoints are presented in the article. One contributor suggests that ghostwriting is scientific misconduct. A second contributor suggests that the extent of ghostwriting needs to be quantified and the impact assessed. Finally, it is suggested that ghostwriters can make a legitimate contribution but concealing the contribution is dishonest and unacceptable.

Action: Clinicians should be aware of the practice of ghostwriting. Clinicians should build a portfolio of trusted sources of information and assess the reliability of information different sources.