In his new book, Dr Seamus O'Mahony describes medicine as "deceitful and corrupt" and "in thrall to the pharmaceutical industry". He joined us on The Last Word to discuss the subject.
Can Medicine Be Cured? looks at the corruption of modern medicine, which follows half a century of huge progress and innovation.
O'Mahony, a consultant gastroenterologist at Cork University Hospital, refers to the golden age of medical research, a 50-year period from the 1930s to 1980s which saw the eradication of diseases such as TB and smallpox.
"During this golden age we saw infant and maternal mortality drop spectacularly and longevity increase significantly. We saw the discovery of the double helix of DNA, the arrival of CT and MRI scanning and organ transplantation."
He describes it as "a spectacular period in human history and medical innovation".
However, O'Mahony says the gains have been much more modest since then: "Although the golden age gave us undoubted benefits in terms of cure and prevention of these diseases, it also created a medical-industrial complex."
He emphasises that, in using the word corruption, "I'm not talking about the entire profession, I'm talking about certain aspects of it."
"There is a consensus within the medical establishment that medical research has lost its way."
A huge amount of research is wasted, he says, because it's driven by factors other than scientific curiosity, such as commercialisation and careerism: "Scientists are driven by perverse incentives to produce large quantities of relatively poor research."
"That's where the money is, and it's also where the promotion is."
