Most doctors report having financial ties to the industry

Almost three-quarters of doctors in a recent national survey said they had a financial tie to the industry, receiving things such as drug samples and food and beverages, both inside and outside the workplace.

Seventy-two percent of respondents reporting having such ties. Drug samples were the most common benefit, with 55 percent of doctors reporting having received them, and food and beverages came in second, with 48 percent saying they received this gift inside the workplace and 30 percent saying they'd received it outside.

IMPACT

Free samples, which are among the most common financial tie reported, have been linked to the prescribing of high-cost brand-name drugs over lower-cost generic alternatives, according to one researcher who worked on the study.

PROPOSAL

Since 2013, gifts and payments to doctors by pharmaceutical and medical device companies have been publicly reported. At some medical centers such as Kaiser Permanente, and certain states, have banned or restricted visits from pharmaceutical representatives, physician payments or gifts. Some manufacturers have also changed their practices for certain gifts.

In order to better understand the effects of these changes, a team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the American Board of Internal Medicine in Philadelphia conducted the survey of internal medicine doctors.

The researchers randomly sampled 1,500 internists and internal medicine specialists, asking 10 yes-or-no questions about "drug, device, or other methodically related company" interactions in the last year: food inside or outside the workplace; free drug samples; pens, notepads, T-shirts; honoraria for speaking; payment for consulting services; payment for service on an advisory board; costs of personal expenses for attending meetings; free tickets to events; subsidized admission to meetings; or conferences for which Continuing Medical Education Credits were awarded.

Few doctors reported receiving small gifts (8 percent) or consulting (4 percent) or service on a specific advisory board (3 percent).

THE TREND

In 2017, specialists reported more meals than internists both inside and outside work, as did more male MDs than female MDs. The researchers said these differences were similar to those found in a national physician survey in 2009 with similar questions and response rates.

Compared to 2009, fewer internal medicine doctors reported receiving all types of financial payments, with the greatest reductions related to food/beverage or tickets to sporting or cultural events (75 percent vs. 42 percent) and speakers bureaus/consulting/advisory boards (18 percent vs. 2 percent).

ON THE RECORD

"What the survey revealed is that while financial industry ties have fallen some over the past decade, a majority of doctors still reported them," says Dartmouth Institute Professor Lisa Schwartz, a member of the research team. "This is particularly concerning when you consider that free samples, which are among the most common financial tie reported, have been linked to the prescribing of high-cost brand-name drugs over lower-cost generic alternatives."

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com