Physician Payments Sunshine: Ireland Scrutinizes Doctors’ Speaker Fees
A recent article in The Daily Business Post, a news outlet in Ireland, examined the relationship between doctors and pharmaceutical companies.
“Today, dozens, if not hundreds of doctors in Ireland, are paid to spread the word about the latest medical devices and medicines,” the article stated. “But these arrangements are coming under increased scrutiny. Studies have shown that even small gifts and payments affect doctors’ attitudes. A growing number of doctors believe they distort the practice of medicine.”
The Post also studied specific speaker payments: “Last weekend this newspaper reported that the Irish Heart Foundation’s stroke expert Dr Ronan Collins was being paid by pharmaceutical companies manufacturing new blood-thinners that help to prevent strokes… Collins said he was paid to give a medical opinion on advisory boards for the companies and to give talks to doctors.”
This practice is common, according to the Post: “Hundreds of doctors get their flights, registration fees and hotels paid for when they attend major international conferences on cancer or cardiology.”
Anne Nolan, chief executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, defended the payments. Doctors get sponsorship to go to international meetings in order to help them to keep up with developments in their field, Nolan stated. She said their hospitals could not afford to pay their flights and hotel bills. ”In an ideal world governments would provide all of that continuing education. Right now the appetite isn’t there and the money isn’t there, so industry is filling in a gap,” said Nolan, as quoted in the Post.
The Post also noted Boeringer Ingelheim’s stance on continuing medical education (CME)—it provides a “vital role in providing scientific information to healthcare professionals, inform[s] them about the benefits and risks of pharmaceutical products and provide[s] a platform for feedback and discussion around healthcare provision.”
Furthermore, CME ”ensure[s] that healthcare professionals have up-to-date, accurate information on our medicines.” CME is ”appropriate, and the industry norm (both in Ireland and internationally), for consultants who provide services such as speaking engagements at these meetings to be offered reasonable compensation for their services.”
International Disclosure Laws
We have provided updates of the Sunshine Act taking hold globally. Payments to healthcare professionals are set to become more transparent throughout Europe. All members of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) have agreed to publish details of all payments to doctors and healthcare institutions in 2016. The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association is a member of EFPIA.
Click here for our article describing the EFPIA Code and inconsistencies within the European member associations.
Last year, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) published aggregate totals of payments made in 2012 to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals as part of a drive towards greater industry transparency.
The report showed that Pharma companies in the UK paid healthcare professionals £40m in sponsorship and support during 2012. The £40m figure is an estimate based on information received from, or published by, 35 out of the top 44 companies based on UK sales in 2012. When such information is unavailable, the ABPI said it has taken the average spend for a company of similar size and added this to the total figures. This compares to figures in the US, where big pharma was found to have paid US doctors $150m in the first eight months of 2011. We wrote about 2013 payment data here.
In the United States, March 31 marked the deadline for reporting aggregate spend reports to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).