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About Dr. John Abramson
Dr. John Abramson served as a primary care doctor in Appalachia as part of the National Health Service Corps. He
was a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow at Case Western Reserve University, studying research design, statistics,
epidemiology, and health policy and then researching the health effects of enrolling a low-income urban population in
an innovative health maintenance organization.
In 1982, he took over a fledgling family practice in Hamilton, MA, where he served as a small town family doctor for the
next 20 years. While in practice, he continued his interest in health policy by joining the faculty of Brandeis University's
Heller School of Social Policy for two years, working part-time on a project designed to tailor local health care
expenditures specifically to local health needs. And he had the opportunity to observe the evolution of HMO coverage
from the inside as an associate medical director for seven years in an early HMO in Massachusetts.
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Abramson merged his private practice into Lahey Clinic, a large doctor-run multi-specialty group
practice. Lahey Clinic showed its commitment to family medicine by setting up a Department of Family Practice for
which he served as chair for seven years.
After he had been practicing for about 10 years, Dr. Abramson started teaching Harvard Medical School students in
his office. As his students became comfortable with the basics of primary care, he helped them to develop their skills in
the "art" of medicine - understanding that the person-to-person connection they were making with their patients was
not just a pleasant amenity but an integral part of good medical care. He also taught a course for several years at
Harvard Medical School with Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind/Body Medical Institute exploring the importance of the
doctor-patient relationship in the healing process.
As the 1990s progressed, Dr. Abramson became aware that patient care was increasingly being compromised by the
growing waste and commercialism in American medicine. By "researching the research," he found that the clinical
studies presented in even the most respected medical journals were often biased by drug and medical device
company sponsorship, and that the medical information available to even the most dedicated doctors often differed
from what the scientific evidence really showed about the best way to take care of their patients.
In 2002, Dr. Abramson left practice to devote himself full-time to researching and writing Overdosed America, with the
goal of helping patients and doctors to reclaim the basic mission of medicine, optimizing health most effectively and
efficiently.
Articles, Reviews, and Appearances
Medical Reporting in a Highly Commercialized Environment, Nieman Reports, Summer 2003.
"Move to switch statins to non-prescription in US" article in the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal review of Overdosed America
WBUR: On Point: "Cholesterol Nation" 7/14/04 --
Dr. Abramson comes into the show at 22 minutes, 50 seconds to rebut the latest recommendations to lower the
threshold for starting cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, making the point that there is no evidence that the drugs help
women of any age or men over 70 who do not already have heart disease. Listen to the response of the lead author of
the recommendations.
WBUR: The Connection: "Prescription Drug Wars" 8/20/04 --
Dr. Abramson comes into the show at 25 minutes to rebut PhRMA's concerns about counterfeit drugs from Canada,
with the fact that there has not been a single instance of a counterfeit drug coming the US from a registered Canadian
pharmacy.
Dr. John Abramson served as a primary care doctor in Appalachia as part of the National Health Service Corps. He
was a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow at Case Western Reserve University, studying research design, statistics,
epidemiology, and health policy and then researching the health effects of enrolling a low-income urban population in
an innovative health maintenance organization.
In 1982, he took over a fledgling family practice in Hamilton, MA, where he served as a small town family doctor for the
next 20 years. While in practice, he continued his interest in health policy by joining the faculty of Brandeis University's
Heller School of Social Policy for two years, working part-time on a project designed to tailor local health care
expenditures specifically to local health needs. And he had the opportunity to observe the evolution of HMO coverage
from the inside as an associate medical director for seven years in an early HMO in Massachusetts.
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Abramson merged his private practice into Lahey Clinic, a large doctor-run multi-specialty group
practice. Lahey Clinic showed its commitment to family medicine by setting up a Department of Family Practice for
which he served as chair for seven years.
After he had been practicing for about 10 years, Dr. Abramson started teaching Harvard Medical School students in
his office. As his students became comfortable with the basics of primary care, he helped them to develop their skills in
the "art" of medicine - understanding that the person-to-person connection they were making with their patients was
not just a pleasant amenity but an integral part of good medical care. He also taught a course for several years at
Harvard Medical School with Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind/Body Medical Institute exploring the importance of the
doctor-patient relationship in the healing process.
As the 1990s progressed, Dr. Abramson became aware that patient care was increasingly being compromised by the
growing waste and commercialism in American medicine. By "researching the research," he found that the clinical
studies presented in even the most respected medical journals were often biased by drug and medical device
company sponsorship, and that the medical information available to even the most dedicated doctors often differed
from what the scientific evidence really showed about the best way to take care of their patients.
In 2002, Dr. Abramson left practice to devote himself full-time to researching and writing Overdosed America, with the
goal of helping patients and doctors to reclaim the basic mission of medicine, optimizing health most effectively and
efficiently.
Articles, Reviews, and Appearances
Medical Reporting in a Highly Commercialized Environment, Nieman Reports, Summer 2003.
"Move to switch statins to non-prescription in US" article in the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal review of Overdosed America
WBUR: On Point: "Cholesterol Nation" 7/14/04 --
Dr. Abramson comes into the show at 22 minutes, 50 seconds to rebut the latest recommendations to lower the
threshold for starting cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, making the point that there is no evidence that the drugs help
women of any age or men over 70 who do not already have heart disease. Listen to the response of the lead author of
the recommendations.
WBUR: The Connection: "Prescription Drug Wars" 8/20/04 --
Dr. Abramson comes into the show at 25 minutes to rebut PhRMA's concerns about counterfeit drugs from Canada,
with the fact that there has not been a single instance of a counterfeit drug coming the US from a registered Canadian
pharmacy.
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