Over 17,000 US Doctors Paid By Drug Companies To Spread Their Message

Article Date: 19 Oct 2010
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Although 74% of Americans take a dim view of doctors receiving payments from pharmaceutical companies, over 17,000 physicians are doing just that, and some of them are receiving huge quantities, a new investigation from ProPublica reveals. The investigation was a joint venture with ProPublica, a not-for-profit independent newsroom, PBS Nightly Business Report, The Chicago Tribune, Consumer Reports, The Boston Globe and NPR.

According to ProPublica, over 17,000 health care professionals, the majority of them doctors, have been identified as having received money from drug companies since the beginning of 2009. Some of the health care professionals include dietitians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists.

In a communiqué, ProPublica inform:

We compiled data from seven companies, covering $257.8 million in payouts since 2009 for speaking, consulting and other duties. 384 of them received over $100,000 since the beginning of 2009, 43 of them over 200,000 and two doctors were given over $300,000. Below are details of the top ten earners(Link to full list):

* A doctor specialized in Internal Medicine; Endocrinology and Metabolism - Nevada
Total received since 2009 - $303,558
* A doctor specialized in Neurology - Tennessee
Total received since 2009 - $302,125
* A doctor specialized in Internal Medicine; Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism - Tennessee
Total received since 2009 - $257,012
* A doctor in Alabama
Total received since 2009 - $255,170
* A doctor specialized in Internal Medicine; Endocrinology and Metabolism - Florida
Total received since 2009 - $254,263
* A doctor specialized in Internal Medicine; Cardiovascular Disease - Texas
Total received since 2009 - $250,450
* A doctor specialized in Anesthesiology - California
Total received since 2009 - $249,822
* A doctor specialized in Anesthesiology; Pain Medicine - Missouri
Total received since 2009 - $243,457
* A doctor specialized in Medical Oncology - North Carolina
Total received since 2009 - $240,150
* A doctor specialized in Internal Medicine; Cardiovascular - Tennessee
Total received since 2009 - $240,100

The comprehensive database is available to the public, informs ProPublica. It includes doctors who have received money from seven pharmaceutical companies which disclosed this information - they include Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Cephalon and AstraZeneca. ProPublic says some of these companies have disclosed the information voluntarily as a gesture of goodwill, while others were forced to do so.

Giving money to doctors in this way is not against the law. In fact, ProPublica admits that a strong relationship between doctors and companies that make medications can be good, and lead to innovation and better therapies.