Responses to Post series on medication of foster kids

“Prescription Kids,” April 13-16 series.

Congratulations and thanks to The Denver Post for running the series on the over-use of prescription psychotropics drugs by foster children. Kudos to Jennifer Brown and ChristopherN. Osher for their sterling reporting. I especially appreciated your exposing the “big pharma” companies’ bribery of doctors and the doctorswho allow themselves to be bribed. I hope The Post will also investigate howmany of the horrendous mass killings by students in recent yearswere taking these mind-altering drugs. These drugs can make some people very violent. When one of these horrendous events takes place, we need to concentrate on the root cause instead of blaming theweapons used.

Christi Beach is my hero. She is not only a voice in the wilderness but boots on the ground in the fight for children and against big pharma and institutionalized abuse in the form of over-medication. Thank you, Denver Post, for spotlighting her and this heartbreaking issue.

“Giving away the pharma,” April 14 news story.

It’s disappointing that your story misrepresents the nature of interac- tions between physicians and the biopharmaceutical industry, rehashes old allegations and overlooks industry’s current marketing standards and practices, and— most incredibly— disparages the integrity of physicians who treat vulnerable patients.

We agree that transparency about the collaboration between biopharmaceutical companies and physicians is critical to maintaining trust in the health care system. But misuse of transparency data to impugn the reputation of physicians who engage in such collaborations benefits no one.

Interactions between physicians and biopharmaceutical professionals are essential for developing new treatments and improving the care that patients receive. Moreover, these interactions are governed by codes of responsibility for health care providers and industry, including PhRMA’s Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals, and they are disclosed by many biopharmaceutical companies.

A balanced portrait of industry-physician collaborations will advance, not distort, an important dialogue about patient care and scientific innovation.

Washington, D.C. The writer is senior vice president of communications for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ( PhRMA) Read another letter on this topic at blogs.denverpost.com/eLetters.

Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post Foster mother Christi Beach, who takes in up to six teenage boys at once in her Arvada group home, has made it her mission to help foster youths wean themselves off medication. A Denver Post series found that about 4,300 of Colorado’s 16,800 foster...