U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors

[Guest guest]

(Drug companies pay doctors for pushing their products? I never knew that.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/health/policy/us-to-tell-drug-makers-to-disclose-payments-to-doctors.html?_r=1 & nl=todaysheadlines & emc=tha2 U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors

By ROBERT PEAR

Published: January 16, 2012

WASHINGTON — To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.

Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices.

Consumer advocates and members of Congress say patients may benefit from the new standards, being issued by the government under the new health care law. Officials said the disclosures increased the likelihood that doctors would make decisions in the best interests of patients, without regard to the doctors’ financial interests.

Large numbers of doctors receive payments from drug and device companies every year — sometimes into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars — in exchange for providing advice and giving lectures. Analyses by The New York Times and others have found that about a quarter of doctors take cash payments from drug or device makers and that nearly two-thirds accept routine gifts of food, including lunch for staff members and dinner for themselves.

The Times has found that doctors who take money from drug makers often practice medicine differently from those who do not and that they are more willing to prescribe drugs in risky and unapproved ways, such as prescribing powerful antipsychotic medicines for children.

Under the new standards, if a company has just one product covered by Medicare or Medicaid, it will have to disclose all its payments to doctors other than its own employees. The federal government will post the payment data on a Web site where it will be available to the public.

Manufacturers of prescription drugs and devices will have to report if they pay a doctor to help develop, assess and promote new products — or if, for example, a pharmaceutical sales agent delivers $25 worth of bagels and coffee to a doctor’s office for a meeting. Royalty payments to doctors, for inventions or discoveries, and payments to teaching hospitals for research or other activities will also have to be reported.

The Obama administration estimates that more than 1,100 drug, device and medical supply companies will have to file reports, generating “large amounts of new data.†Federal officials said they would inspect and audit drug company records to make sure the reports were accurate and complete.

Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.

Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you.

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Ben lin

[Guest guest]

This sounds like a “good†thing, and I hope it works out for the best.However, I have to add here that I spent many hours in my previous family doctor’s office waiting for my scheduled appointments, only to see nicely dressed mini-skirted young women carrying heavy bags get first dibs at my doctor, even though they came into the waiting room after I had. It was obvious that they had no medical emergency, but for some reason, these women were allowed in to see the doctor before those of us who were suffering with some ailment were, even though some of us had been sitting and waiting for hours at times. Even when I was in my teens, I had it somewhat figured out that the Pharma reps are more important to some docs than their patients, sadly.Aasa From: EOHarm [mailto:EOHarm ] On Behalf Of Mr. WonderfulSent: January-18-12 6:19 PMTo: undisclosed recipients:Subject: U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors (Drug companies pay doctors for pushing their products? I never knew that.)http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/health/policy/us-to-tell-drug-makers-to-disclose-payments-to-doctors.html?_r=1 & nl=todaysheadlines & emc=tha2 U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to DoctorsBy ROBERT PEARPublished: January 16, 2012 WASHINGTON — To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment. Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices. Consumer advocates and members of Congress say patients may benefit from the new standards, being issued by the government under the new health care law. Officials said the disclosures increased the likelihood that doctors would make decisions in the best interests of patients, without regard to the doctors’ financial interests. Large numbers of doctors receive payments from drug and device companies every year — sometimes into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars — in exchange for providing advice and giving lectures. Analyses by The New York Times and others have found that about a quarter of doctors take cash payments from drug or device makers and that nearly two-thirds accept routine gifts of food, including lunch for staff members and dinner for themselves. The Times has found that doctors who take money from drug makers often practice medicine differently from those who do not and that they are more willing to prescribe drugs in risky and unapproved ways, such as prescribing powerful antipsychotic medicines for children. Under the new standards, if a company has just one product covered by Medicare or Medicaid, it will have to disclose all its payments to doctors other than its own employees. The federal government will post the payment data on a Web site where it will be available to the public. Manufacturers of prescription drugs and devices will have to report if they pay a doctor to help develop, assess and promote new products — or if, for example, a pharmaceutical sales agent delivers $25 worth of bagels and coffee to a doctor’s office for a meeting. Royalty payments to doctors, for inventions or discoveries, and payments to teaching hospitals for research or other activities will also have to be reported. The Obama administration estimates that more than 1,100 drug, device and medical supply companies will have to file reports, generating “large amounts of new data.†Federal officials said they would inspect and audit drug company records to make sure the reports were accurate and complete. Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you.Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.Ben lin