Is the practice of ghostwriting for medical publications considered acceptable?

The practice of ghostwriting for medical publications is deemed unacceptable primarily because it undermines the principles of transparency and accountability in medical communication. Ethical guidelines established by various organizations, such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Good Publication Practice guidelines, emphasize the importance of authorship integrity. These guidelines stipulate that all contributors who have made substantive intellectual contributions to a work should be credited as authors to ensure appropriate accountability for the content.

Ghostwriting, where a person not listed as an author writes the manuscript, can lead to a lack of transparency about who is responsible for the ideas and data presented, potentially influencing the interpretation of research outcomes and clinical practice unduly. This practice can also mislead readers and other stakeholders regarding the qualifications and biases of the true authors. Thus, concerns around patient safety, scientific integrity, and the reliability of medical literature reinforce the stance that ghostwriting should not be practiced in the context of medical publications.