New JAMA study investigates failures of state payment disclosure legislation

Payments from pharmaceutical companies to physicians are not readily accessible to the public despite new state disclosure laws and often involve substantial sums, according to an article co-authored by the US consumer lobby group Public Citizen and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

In contrast to other professions, such as education and law, the health care sector allows payments from the drug industry to doctors that involve cash, cash-value payments or in-kind payments, such as meals or conference fees. To avoid conflict of interest, the American Medical Association recommends that gifts to doctors, etc, should be of educational value and not exceed $100. The pharmaceutical industry has similar guidelines, the article explains.

Five states and the District of Columbia require these payments to be reported. Of these, only two - Vermont and Minnesota - currently make the data publicly available. The study is the first to evaluate the effectiveness of public disclosure laws in these two states and also the first to investigate the prevalence and magnitude of the disclosed payments. Co-authors included Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, and Peter Lurie, the group's deputy director.