Pharma Payments to Physicians
The current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association includes a study that assesses pharmaceutical company payments to physicians in light of new disclosure laws in Minnesota and Vermont. The report also sought to assess the ease to access payment data and the quality of that data.
The analysis was completed by a cross-sectional analysis of data available to the public from two-year periods in each State. The study authors noted significant challenges in collecting the data. In Vermont, over $2.18 million in payments were made; the median payment was $177. In the Minnesota data evaluated, $30.96 million in publicly disclosed payments were made; the median payment was $1,000.
Importantly, in the Vermont data set, 61% of payments were not available for public disclosure based on proprietary claims of the companies. As well, 75% of payments could not be linked to the payee. These factors limited the ability to analyze the Vermont data.
The report findings indicate that though the disclosure laws were passed, access to payment information is significantly limited and, moreover, the quality of the data is limited.
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March 21, 2007 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Ethics & Scandals, Pharmaceuticals