More companies support payment transparency

WASHINGTON Trade groups representing the nation’s drug and medical device manufacturers and several of the manufacturers themselves have endorsed Senate legislation that would create a registry of companies’ payments to doctors.

The bill, the Physicians Payments Sunshine Act, co-sponsored by Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., would create a database listing speaking fees, gifts and research payments to doctors by companies. It has received the endorsement of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Advanced Medical Technology Association, as well as Medtronic, AstraZeneca, Merck, Eli Lilly and other companies.

The companies would have to post payments to doctors of $500 or more every year. A previous version of the bill required reporting of payments of $25 or more. The National Physicians Alliance, which opposes the financial influence of pharmaceutical companies on medical education and practice, estimates that 94 percent of physicians accept payments or gifts from the pharmaceutical industry.