Physician Payment Sunshine: Some Pharmaceutical Companies Reduced Meal Payments to Health Care Providers

Fox business news recently reported that two pharmaceutical companies reduced meal spending on doctors last year by double-digit percentages, “as greater transparency,” such as the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, and ProPublica, “shed light” on physician industry collaboration.  “Reduced spending on dinners and other events where drug makers pay expert doctors to give presentations to peers about certain drugs and diseases became a big source of the declines for Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK).  Also, layoffs of pharmaceutical-sales representatives and patent expirations for big-selling drugs have resulted in fewer sales calls on doctors, and thus fewer free lunches provided to physicians' offices,” the article noted.  The article comes amid recent publication of an updated Dollar for Docs database, run by ProPublica.  Pfizer’s payments to U.S. health-care professionals totaled $173.2 million in 2012, down 11% from 2011, according to data the company posted online in March.  A majority of the payments were related to clinical research, which stayed roughly flat year over year.   Pfizer reduced spending on meals for doctors by 40% because the company laid off some sales representatives and is conducting more online, “virtual” meetings between doctors and company representatives, said spokeswoman Sharon Castillo.  Pfizer also cut by more than 60% its spending on expert-led forums, which include events where company-paid doctors discuss Pf...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs