On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we talk with Alan Schwarz, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative reporter who (until recently) was on the staff at The New York Times. He joins us to discuss his groundbreaking new book, "ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic." It's a detailed report on why the widespread misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become a sad yet undeniable fact of American life. More than one in seven American children get diagnosed with ADHD -- which is three times what experts have said is appropriate -- and therefore millions of kids in the US are being misdiagnosed...and are taking medications such as Adderall or Concerta for a psychiatric condition they probably do not have. How did we get to this point? And to what extent did America's medical system actually allow or enable this to happen? As was noted of this important book is a starred review from Kirkus: "In this powerful, necessary book, Schwarz exposes the dirty secrets of the growing ADHD epidemic." And further, per The New York Times Book Review: "'ADHD Nation' should be required reading for those who seek to understand how a field that once aimed to ameliorate the behavioral problems of children in a broad therapeutic context abdicated its mission to the stockholders of corporations like Shire and Lilly. Schwarz is sounding an alarm for a fire that looks nowhere near abating."
"ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic"
