The public does care and paying attention

November 15, 2010

Look at the legs Pro-Public’s Dollars for Docs grew. They will be adding three more pharmaceutical companies to their data bank next year.

The Pro-Publica Treasure Trove: Payments to Physicians and Why Conflict-of-Interest Policies, Gift Bans, and Sunshine Laws Matter

ProPublica, a center for journalism in the public interest, launched their Dollars for Docs program last month. The ongoing investigation includes a searchable database that includes 17,000 U.S. doctors and allows their patients to search to determine whether their physician has taken money from the pharma industry. The ProPublica site includes ongoing analysis and opinion articles, including articles from partners NPR, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, Consumer Reports, and PBS.

One area of specific interest to state legislators is the ability to break down payments to physicians by state and to see which pharmaceutical manufacturers are the biggest spenders for state docs. The data show that California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania top the list of payments to physicians. Because aggregate payments are shown, more populous states would be expected to top the list, but data on comparable states is also useful to state legislators.

The ProPublica investigation reaches into many aspects of the industry payments to physicians. These data has spurred a new wave into the investigation of the relationships between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. Following is a round-up of noteworthy articles and commentary on specific aspects of the recent coverage.

Payments to physicians who have been subject to professional sanctions

ProPublica: Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials

Forbes: The Best Bits Of ProPublica’s Pharma Payroll Investigation

HealthWatch: Big Pharma paying docs with dubious records to promote drugs

Medical Marketing and Media: Report says pharmas pay quacks to hawk drugs

Failures of conflict of interest policies and physician attitudes towards payments

The Boston Globe: Prescription for Prestige: Drug firms’ speaking fees flow to Harvard doctors; concerns about influence prompt new restrictions

Hooked Blog: Review Time: Rationalizations Doctors Tell about Pharma Money

Hooked Blog: From ProPublica: The Seamy Side of Pharma Speakers’ Bureaus

PBS: Pharma & Physicians

Payments to physicians and other marketing drives up costs by increasing the overprescribing of brand-name drugs.

NPR: How to Win Doctors and Influence Prescriptions