摘要
As editors of general medical journals, we recog-nize that the publication of clinical-research find-ings in respected peer-reviewed journals is the ul-timate basis for most treatment decisions. Publicdiscourse about this published evidence of efficacyand safety rests on the assumption that clinical-tri-als data have been gathered and are presented inan objective and dispassionate manner. This dis-course is vital to the scientific practice of medicinebecause it shapes treatment decisions made byphysicians and drives public and private healthcare policy. We are concerned that the current in-tellectual environment in which some clinical re-search is conceived, study participants are recrui-ted, and the data analyzed and reported (or notreported) may threaten this precious objectivity.
