Device And Drug Manufacturers Paid $7.52B To Doctors, Hospitals In 2015
According to a government report, doctors and hospitals received $7.52 billion from drug and device manufacturers in 2015. This year marks the third year of disclosures required by a provision of the Affordable Care Act, which was created to provide greater transparency in healthcare industry’s financial relationships.
As part of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (PPSA) passed in 2010, drug and device manufacturers are required to keep records of any “transfer of value” between industry and clinician or teaching hospital, including meals, speaking fees, gifts, travel expenses, and research grants. These records are submitted once a year to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which then releases the information to the public on the Open Payments website.
So far, the program has garnered mixed response from the healthcare system and industry advocacy groups, such as Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). While the provision was created as an attempt to stem fraud and corruption, others argue that it may inhibit innovation and doctors’ willingness to collaborate with industry in the development of new technology. In a 2013 statement, PhRMA emphasized the need for context when looking at the reports.
CMS reported that the industry paid out $6.49 billion in 2014. A study conducted by the University of California, San Diego revealed that interventionalists — specifically, surgeons specializing in neurology, cardiology, and orthopedics — received the most money, which researchers attributed to a higher rate of involvement in device development and research.
In 2015, that number is up to $7.52 billion, according to a government report that looked at contributions from 1,456 companies to 618,000 physicians and 1,110 teaching hospitals. Reuters reported that $3.89 billion — over half — went toward research payments.
“We consult doctors to get their insights and advice on diseases and products to help ensure we’re developing medicines that meet the needs of patients,” said a Novartis spokesman to the Boston Globe. “We facilitate programs where physicians who are experts in their fields meet with their peers to help educate them about the appropriate use of FDA-approved medicine.”
A recent study published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) highlighted a correlation between doctors who received meals from industry representatives and those who had a greater tendency to prescribe name-brand drugs. Study authors emphasized that the findings did not represent a “cause-and-effect” relationship.
Matt Wetzel, assistant general counsel at the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), commented that collaboration between industry and physician is critical for medical advancement.
“The main purpose here is to shed sunlight on these interactions,” Wetzel told Bloomberg. “The patients and public can make their own decisions about what is or is not a relationship that’s close or too close.