Ghostwriting, or using the names of academic researchers to validate studies commissioned by pharmaceutical companies, has become a growing concern within medical literature. Omission from authorship of the names of individuals making considerable contributions to a paper is one of the most significant aspects of ghostwriting. Policy prohibiting medical ghostwriting is lacking, and it is nearly impossible to prevent the practice without strict and thorough guidelines. More strict guidelines banning ghostwriting, denying government funds to organizations without such policies, and development of databases to track offending authors and organizations could decrease the impact of ghostwriting in medical literature.
