Secret drug company payments to doctors remain legal in 48 states

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Only five states and the District of Columbia require that pharmaceutical companies report gifts they make to doctors, and even in these jurisdictions the laws are so poorly enforced that the details of these transactions remain a de facto secret, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers examined public records from Vermont and Minnesota, the only two states that require disclosure by pharmaceutical companies and make that data available to the public. By studying the data from 2002 to 2004, the researchers hoped to gain a better understanding of how money moves from the pharmaceutical to the medical industry.

“What we really found was laws aren’t working,” said study author Joseph Ross, of the geriatrics department of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

The researchers found that while reported payments were quite high, the details of those transactions were not available. In other cases, reported payments were so low as to be suspicious. For example, GlaxoSmithKline claimed zero dollars spent in Vermont in the time period studied, yet the state attorney general listed the company as making more payments than any other. In Minnesota, Amgen recorded zero dollars in payments in 2002 or 2004, but more than $4 million in 2003.

Part of the reason for this inconsistency is that gifts of drugs or items not yet on the market can be classified as “trade secrets” and not reported. But Ross believes that this loophole is being exploited.

“To designate every payment made as a trade secret … seems improbable,” he said.

Pharmaceutical companies have been known to give doctors extravagant gifts including all-expense-paid vacations or gourmet dinners as part of their marketing campaigns. According to Dr. Harlan Krumholz, an associate professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, this presents a conflict of interest that the public should know about.

Ross agrees. “If both parties think this payment is appropriate, then this information should be made available to the public,” he said.

Have Your Say: Secret drug company payments to doctors remain legal in 48 states
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Watchdog: Corruption Hinders US-Funded Reconstruction Projects

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: Watchdog: Corruption Hinders US-Funded Reconstruction Projects
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

E-voting hacks to get Capitol Hill spotlight

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: E-voting hacks to get Capitol Hill spotlight
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Committee demanding details of NSA data-mining

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: Committee demanding details of NSA data-mining
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

£31m poured into ID cards scheme

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: £31m poured into ID cards scheme
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

ID cards will give ‘false’ data

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: ID cards will give ‘false’ data
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

MPs outraged by pupil fingerprinting

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: MPs outraged by pupil fingerprinting
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Britain will take troops out of Iraq regardless of US, says PM

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: Britain will take troops out of Iraq regardless of US, says PM
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

MoD’s PR army of spin is out of control

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: MoD’s PR army of spin is out of control
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Aspartame: Missing the Point?

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Have Your Say: Aspartame: Missing the Point?
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Bush calls for retroactive legalization of illegal wiretapping

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Have Your Say: Bush calls for retroactive legalization of illegal wiretapping
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Pentagon to implant microchips in soldiers’ brains

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Have Your Say: Pentagon to implant microchips in soldiers’ brains
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Defense Earnings Continue To Soar

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Have Your Say: Defense Earnings Continue To Soar
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Police demand law change for drug drivers

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Have Your Say: Police demand law change for drug drivers
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Da Vinci’s Last Supper: New conspiracy theory

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Have Your Say: Da Vinci’s Last Supper: New conspiracy theory
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report in our forum .

Related News

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 9:45 pm and is filed under Latest News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Translate: