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- 2012
- January (11)
- PFC Lowers Antibodies!
- People Don't Stop Smoking After Seing Plaque in Carotids!
- Pharmaceutical Companies and Physicians
- Importance of Vitamin D
- Statin Drugs and Diabetes
- Heart Attacks and Long Distance Running
- Wasted Research Money?
- Nicotine Patch Ineffective
- So How Much Exercise Can You Squeeze In?
- Neti-Pot Problems
- AHA Study: Heart Disease Increasing
- 2011
- December (11)
- Cranberries vs. Antibiotics for UTI
- Antioxidants Reduce Cancer Risk
- Back Surgery: Too Many, Too Costly, Too Ineffective!
- Simvastin (Zocor, Vytorin, Simcor) Danger
- Physicians Rate Insurance Companies
- Anti-coagulant Drug Problems
- Bad News about Stop Smoking Drug
- Antibiotics: Inappropriately Used
- Exercise More Important Than BMI
- Pediatric Antibiotis: Over Prescribed?
- FDA Criticized Dr. Oz But Was It Fair?
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Proposal Will Require Drug Companies to Report Payments to Physician
Drug companies may soon have to reveal payments made to doctors for research, drug promotion, and other activities, according to an article in the New York Times.
The measure is part of the Affordable Care Act and is designed to deter conflicts of interest. If a firm's product is covered by Medicare or Medicaid, it will need to disclose all money paid to physicians who are not company employees. Such payments include those given for product development and promotion, food or gifts delivered by a pharmaceutical representative, royalties for discoveries, and payments to teaching hospitals. The data will be posted on a public website.
The public can comment on the proposed rules until February 17, after which Medicare will issue a final regulation.
Comment: This is long overdue. There are physicians who are paid to lecture to other physicians about new drugs. Many physicians are given gifts, lunches, dinners for the purpose of promoting drugs. These relationships need to be disclosed to patients, who then have the right to ask why they are being prescribed certain drugs over others. Is there a conflict of interest? Probably in the majority of cases, no. But there may be some cases where the physicians are "pressured" into prescribing certain drugs or feel obligated to do so. Do they want to bite off the hand that feeds them?