Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17796

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Electronic Source

Silverman E
The Life And Times Of Whistleblowers
Pharmalot 2010 May 12
http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/05/the-life-and-times-of-whistleblowers/

Full text:

It’s never easy being a snitch and a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine finds the process takes a heavy toll on personal and professional lives, since whistleblower cases last, on average, almost five years. The researchers interviewed 26 people who filed 17 cases against drugmakers from January 2001 to March 2009, and the whistleblowers received shares of settlements ranging from $100,000 to $42 million – an average of $3 million.
What motivated them? The most common reply was integrity. Some wanted to prevent fraudulent behavior from posing public health risks. A few worried they would be discovered and suffer legal consequences. Triggerings events were career changes – starting at a new company or being promoted; added corporate competition, or new management after a takeover or merger. Most refused to participate in actions that led to a suit, but these folks say their job performances began lagging their peers. Most tried to fix matters internally by talking to superiors, filing internal complaints, or both. Those who voiced concerns were told the behavior was legal or their complaints were dismissed – and were told to follow orders.
There were other stresses. For instance, 15 were asked by prosecutors to wear recording devices during company meetings, tape phone conversations or copy documents. “I would have FBI agents show up in the office. I told them, the company people, that they were computer people. Luckily they believed it,” one whistleblower reported. “That’s amusing now after the fact. But at the time they call you in 5 minutes. They say `We’re coming onto your campus.’” And some felt they were under suspicion, as well as the people involved in the wrongdoing.
The financial difficulties that come with filing such suits caused divorces, severe marital strain, or other family conflicts. Thirteen had stress-related health problems, including shingles, psoriasis, autoimmune disorders, panic attacks, asthma, insomnia, temporomandibular joint disorder, migraine headaches, and generalized anxiety. Just the same, 22 of the 26 whistleblowers that what they did was important for ethical and other psychological or spiritual reasons. The settlements helped alleviate some of the financial and nonfinancial costs of the litigation, and one whistleblower compared his settlement to “hitting the lottery.” But most said their shares were small compared to the time spent on the case and the disruption and damage to their careers.
The study authors concluded that the strain may “make prospective whistleblowers with legitimate evidence of fraud reluctant to come forward…In many of the personal stories we heard, the financial recovery appeared to be quite disproportionate (in both positive and negative directions) to the personal investment in the case…and protections are not fully effective…Often, the retaliation was more subtle than overt harassment. For example, (whistleblowers) reported changes in employment duties that made meeting sales quotas or other expectations impossible, providing a pretext for job termination.
“Our findings suggest that changes to the False Claims Act and qui tam process that mitigate relators’ hardships may help promote responsible whistle-blowing and enhance the effectiveness of this integral component of efforts to combat health care fraud,” they concluded.