Re: Why do mammograms ...
Originally Posted by
Twink55
->
On the first point, I cannot believe that the Cochrane Institute is as good as they would have us believe, until somebody explains to me how & why such a large business can be set up and work without making a profit.
All the info you are looking for is on the Cochrane website. It explains how they are funded, who funds them, who they absolutely will not accept funding from and so on. The organisation has 1000s of volunteers from a wide variety of medical fields and spread all over the world.
Originally Posted by Twink55
Nobody works for nothing, but profits can be easily hidden, so I prefer to listen to doctors who have medical qualifications & abide by the Hippocratic Oath.
So, Cochrane's accounts are freely accessible and published every year. They also hold an AGM every year. All above board and examinable.
Here's their web page that highlights their funders and partners.
http://www.cochrane.org/about-us/our...s-and-partners
Might surprise you to learn that the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK), which is the research arm of the NHS, is the largest funder, contributing over £1m.
To be fair, you should also know that just about anyone who has ever worked in the NHS knows very well who and what the Cochrane Institute is. It's part of their training, it's where they go to for qualified information. Where you & I would not think twice about going to the Yellow Pages for info on businesses, NHS health workers equally wouldn't think twice about going to the Cochrane database of systematic studies. My friend and neighbour is a long standing ward sister and knows all about Cochrane.
Here's the Cochrane Financial Report/Accounts for 2016
http://www.cochrane.org/sites/defaul...d_dec_2016.pdf
Cochrane's Statements on Independence
"Cochrane works collaboratively with partners and funders to produce and disseminate authoritative, relevant, and reliable health evidence. Our funding and partner relationships reflect our commitment to help improve the world's health through high quality, up-to-date research evidence, and to make this information accessible and easy to understand.
Cochrane's central organizational income in 2017 grew strongly to £8.67 million, a 19% increase from 2016 (£6.8 million GBP). Much of this income is derived from the proceeds of the Cochrane Library and other Cochrane products. It is invested back into the organization by our Governing Board to deliver the goals of our Strategy to 2020.
Our global network of Groups are supported by national governments, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, universities, hospitals, private foundations, and personal donations worldwide. The direct income in 2017 for Cochrane Groups was £15,606,328 (see below for more details).
Cochrane is able to generate authoritative and reliable information because
we never accept commercial or conflicted funding. This policy means Cochrane contributors can work freely, unconstrained by commercial or financial interests."
As a healthy cynic and sceptic this situation is one I will always keep an eye on. There will always exist the possibility and risk that at some stage the strong willed and principled leaders of Cochrane might crumble under pressure, give in to Big Pharma threats or begin to accept bribes and payments to skew research in their favour. It is up to us to monitor that any way we can and compare outputs and study results with those of others.