A Quantitative and Narrative Evaluation of Goodman and Gilman’s Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics

Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics ((GG)PBT) has been a cornerstone in the education of pharmacists, physicians, and pharmacologists for decades. The objectives of this study were to describe and evaluate the 13(th) edition of (GG)PBT on bases including: (1) author characteristics; (2) recency of citations; (3) conflict of interest (CoI) disclosure; (4) expert evaluation of chapters. Contributors’ (N = 115) sex, professional degrees, and presence of undisclosed potential CoI—as reported by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid’s Open Payments (2013–2017)—were examined. The year of publication of citations was extracted relative to Katzung’s Basic and Clinical Pharmacology ((Kat)BCP), and DiPiro’s Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach ((DiP)PAPA). Content experts provided thorough chapter reviews. The percent of (GG)PBT contributors that were female (20.9%) was equivalent to those in (Kat)BCP (17.0%). Citations in (GG)PBT (11.5 ± 0.2 years) were significantly older than those in (Kat)BCP (10.4 ± 0.2) and (DiP)PAPA (9.1 ± 0.1, p < 0.0001). Contributors to (GG)PBT received USD 3 million in undisclosed remuneration (Maximum author = USD 743,718). In contrast, (DiP)PAPA made CoI information available. Reviewers noted several strengths but also some areas for improvement. (GG)PBT will continue to be an important component of the biomedical curriculum. Areas of improvement include a more diverse authorship, improved conflict of interest transparency, and a greater inclusion of more recent citations.