Tonight, ProPublica will be posting a significant update to its Dollars for Docs database, adding new payment reports from 12 drug companies that comprise more than 40 percent of U.S. drug sales. Hundreds of thousands of doctors will be added to the database.
In advance of the update, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America issued a statement defending drugmakers' interactions with physicians.
"Interactions between biopharmaceutical research companies and healthcare professionals play a critical role in improving patient care and fostering appropriate use of medicines," wrote Diane Bieri, the group's executive vice president and general counsel.
The PhRMA release does not explicitly note that doctors and other health professionals are being paid for giving promotional speeches, calling them “peer education programs.” ProPublica's analysis found that some physicians earn more than $100,000 a year from the practice.
PhRMA cites a recent survey of 508 physicians in which nine out of 10 attendees of pharma-sponsored physician speeches said they found information they received to be useful. More than half of attendees said they often gain knowledge or skills helpful to their practice.
A different survey, conducted by Consumer Reports last year, found that more than three-fourths of 1,250 adults said they would be “very” or “somewhat” concerned about getting the best treatment or advice if their doctor were accepting drug-company money. And 70 percent said doctors should tell their patients about such payments if they are going to prescribe drugs from one of those companies.
The survey, with a sampling error of plus or minus 2.8 percent, was conducted in collaboration with ProPublica's investigation into promotional payments from drug companies to doctors.
In addition, a host of whistle-blower lawsuits have accused some companies of inappropriately promoting their drugs for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or for giving kickbacks to physicians who prescribed their products. Companies have paid billions of dollars in recent years to settle the cases, and some have pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
The Dollars for Docs database was first published in October 2010. With this update, ProPublica has made the data available in advance to dozens of media organizations that have expressed an interest.
