New database reveals how many “gifts” doctors get from medical companies

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with little fanfare, released a public database of information earlier this week that detailed how much money and what in-kind benefits that doctors have been receiving from pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers. Only “gifts” larger than $10 are counted in the database.

Known as the Open Payments database, which was a requirement for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, is incomplete, as only data from the last five months of 2013 is included, at least for now. Even so, the numbers are quite staggering.

From August to December, 546,000 Doctors, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and chiropractors as well as 1,360 teaching hospitals received more than $3.48 billion in cash, gifts, in-kind services, stock options, and research grants from drugmakers and device makers. HHS is still verifying 300,000 records it didn’t include in the database, so the total amount will rise.

It’s hoped that, once the database is fully functional, patients and other interested parties will be able to see a doctor’s financial ties to medical companies. Which will enable them to evaluate a doctor’s treatments and discourage any potential conflicts of interest. The American Medical Association vehemently opposes the database, but this part of the Affordable Care Act even has the support of Republicans.

Read more about the story at The New York Times.