Dollars for Doctors
How Industry Money Reaches Physicians
ProPublica is tracking the financial ties between doctors and medical companies.
How the Heart Rhythm Society Sells Access
The Heart Rhythm Society’s annual conference is a marketing bonanza for drug companies and medical device makers.
Medical Groups Shy About Detailing Industry Financial Support
Sen. Charles Grassley asked 33 health organizations who their corporate backers are, and responses show that some get half their income from the medical industry. Critics say public disclosure of industry ties is needed.
Dollars for Docs Adds Payouts from HIV Drug Maker
ViiV Healthcare, which specializes in HIV medications, disclosed paying $3.4 million in speaking and consulting fees to doctors during the first three quarters of 2010. It becomes the eighth company in Dollars for Docs database.
Dollars for Docs Sparks Policy Rewrite at Colorado Teaching Hospitals
The University of Colorado Denver and its affiliated teaching hospitals have launched an overhaul of conflict of interest policies after a ProPublica database revealed extensive ties between its faculty and pharmaceutical companies.
Scraping for Journalism: A Guide for Collecting Data
A series of programming and technical guides on how we collected data for Dollars for Docs.
Dollars for Docs Payments Approach $300 Million
ProPublica has added another $13 million in payments to our Dollars for Docs database of drug-company spending on doctors and other health professionals. That brings the total to nearly $295 million.
Drug Companies Retain Tight Control of Physicians’ Presentations
Drug companies keep strict control of materials doctors use in paid presentations about pharmaceuticals. The companies say this ensures that speakers comply with U.S. FDA regulations.
Med Schools Flunk at Keeping Faculty Off Pharma Speaking Circuit
Top U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals are failing to adequately enforce policies that prohibit or restrict faculty physicians from being paid by drug companies to give promotional speeches about their products.
In Minnesota, Drug Company Reports of Payments to Doctors Arrive Riddled With Mistakes
A new federal plan will require drug and medical device companies to report all payments to U.S. physicians in 2013. The danger? As Minnesota discovered, some information submitted may not be accurate.
Massachusetts Posts Pharma Payments to Health Providers
This week, Massachusetts became the first state to post an online database of payments from drug and medical device companies to the state’s health care providers.
Drug Firms Say They'll Take Closer Look at the Docs They Pay
Seven drug companies paid $7.1 million to 292 doctors who faced disciplinary action or other regulatory sanctions, ProPublica found. Several companies say they may take steps to tighten screening procedures for physicians who are paid as speakers or for other activities promoting prescription drugs.
How News Organizations are Using Dollars for Docs Data—And How You Can Too
News organizations across the country are continuing to generate their own stories using our Dollars for Docs data.
Dollars for Docs: Who’s On Pharma’s Top-Paid List?
A review of the highest-earning physicians in ProPublica’s Dollars for Docs database offers insight into why some medical professionals are drawn to the lucrative sideline of public speaking to promote favored drugs.
Doctors on Pharma Payroll: What Our Partners Found
While it’s not illegal for doctors to promote prescription drugs and accept payments from drug companies, such arrangements do raise ethical questions that some institutions have found concerning enough to try to limit.
Editor's Note: Dollars for Docs
The stories ProPublica is publishing today on the drug industry are part of a broader effort to expand the possibilities of collaborative journalism.
Lawsuits Say Pharma Illegally Paid Doctors to Push Their Drugs
Pharma companies are being accused in lawsuits of paying doctors to push off-label uses of their drugs or financially rewarding doctors for prescribing their brand-name medications.
Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials
Hundreds of doctors paid by pharmaceutical companies to promote their drugs have been accused of professional misconduct, were disciplined by state boards or lacked credentials as researchers or specialists, ProPublica has found. We compiled data from seven companies, covering $257.8 million in payouts since 2009 for speaking, consulting and other duties
Consumer Reports: Most Patients Worry About Pharma Payments to Doctors
A Consumer Reports survey has found that patients say they would be concerned about the quality of care they receive from a doctor who is paid to promote a drug. And they said they want to know about such payments.
