We frequently write about the transparency requirements found in the United States Physician Payments Sunshine Act and the resulting statistics; however, the United States is not the only country with recently-enacted transparency laws. Germany recently released their first transparency numbers, following a push by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle für die Arzneimittelindustrie e.V.” (FSA).
In 2015, more than 575 million euros were given to physicians, specialist group members, and medical institutions from various drug companies. Spiegel, a highly-recognized German journal, compiled the data into a database. You can search the database in several different ways, including by zip code and city.
If there are several physicians at the same address that received money from industry, the tool will show the receiver with the highest total. All other recipients, and a breakdown by category, can also be found via a link in the tooltip. Doctors and institutions were asked for consent for the release of their data. If a particular physician or provider is not found in the database, it can mean he or she accepted no money or that he or she did not want his or her name released.
Shortcomings
However, as with many other transparency efforts, there were some shortcomings in Germany as well. Spiegel recognized that the quality of the data was doubtful in some cases, such as when the sums specified did not match up with the listed payments. Some addresses were also partially incomplete, making it so that individual points on the map are not always entirely accurate.
As previously noted, doctors and physicians were asked for their consent to be named in the data. Under Germany transparency requirements, a doctor will only be listed by name if they agree. Of the 71,000 doctors who received grants, only about 20,000 gave their consent to be named.
Additionally, the initiative does not cover all pharmaceutical companies, the participating companies represent about 75% of the German market for prescription drugs and the sums that individual doctors receive for studies and controversial surveillance studies is not documented.
Lastly, one major concern is that there is no central repository for information, curious patients must go to each website of the fifty-four participating pharmaceutical companies and search through for information.
Interestingly, the reporters at Spiegel turn their eyes toward the United States, noting that our Physician Payment Sunshine Act is a true transparency model that ought to be followed, where the name of the physician, the reason for the payment, and the amount of the payment are all required. Then, all the data is collected and entered into a central, publicly accessible and searchable database in which everyone can search for – and find – their physicians.
The reporters over at Spiegel request that perhaps the government should get involved and draft legislation that makes the Germany transparency effort more like the United States transparency effort. However, the Health Minister of the CDU, Hermann Grohe, notes that there is no further legislation planned on the topic in Germany.
Conclusion
Transparency has been a buzz word in the United States for quite some time now, and transparency efforts across the pond are also underway. While we are still suspicious of the benefits of transparency, we encourage our readers to stay abreast of any changes in the transparency law of your respective country.
For a more in-depth review of Germany transparency numbers, as well as United Kingdom transparency numbers, see the August 2016 issue of Life Science Compliance Update (sub req).