Dollars for Docs: How Industry Dollars Reach Your Doctors
In recent years, drug companies have started releasing details of the payments they make to doctors and other health professionals for promotional talks, research and consulting. As of 2014, 17 companies published the information, most because of legal settlements. Use this tool to search for payments.
As Full Disclosure Nears, Doctors’ Pay for Drug Talks Plummets
As transparency increases and blockbuster drugs lose patent protection, drug companies have dramatically scaled back payments to doctors for promotional talks. This fall, all drug and medical device companies will be required to report payments to doctors. More »
Dollars for Docs Mints a Millionaire
New data show drugmakers’ payments to hundreds of thousands of doctors, and some have made well over $500,000. More »
Med Schools Flunk at Keeping Faculty Off Pharma Speaking Circuit
Top U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals have failed to adequately enforce policies that restrict faculty physicians for being paid for speaking by drug companies. More »
Financial Ties Bind Medical Societies to Drug and Device Makers
Professional groups like the Heart Rhythm Society write guidelines on treatments and the use of medical devices, but researchers say their acceptance of sponsorships and grants from drug and device makers poses a conflict of interest that many patients never consider. More »
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updates since last visitWith Drug Reps Kept At Bay, Doctors Prescribe More Judiciously
A new study shows that doctors prescribed fewer marketed brand-name drugs when teaching hospitals restricted access to pharmaceutical sales representatives.
Pharma Money Reaches Guideline Writers, Patient Groups, Even Doctors on Twitter
A series of studies published today documents the vast conflicts of interest in medicine. The way we think about disease “is being subtly distorted” by financial ties, the authors of an editorial write.
Updated Dollars for Docs
We’ve updated Dollars for Docs. It now includes payments made from August 2013 through December 2015 — some $6.25 billion in payments to more than 800,000 doctors.
We’ve Updated Dollars for Docs. Here’s What’s New.
ProPublica has been publishing data on conflicts of interest in medicine since 2010. We’ve updated our Dollars for Docs database with billions of dollars in payments made last year.
Illinois Sues Controversial Drug Maker Over Deceptive Marketing Practices
Insys, which has come under fire before for using doctors with troubled histories to promote or consult on its products, faces new claims from Illinois’ attorney general.
Drug and Device Makers Pay Thousands of Docs with Disciplinary Records
Physicians whose state boards have sanctioned them for harming patients, unnecessarily prescribing addictive drugs, bilking federal insurance programs and even sexual misconduct nonetheless continue to receive payments for consulting, giving talks about products, and more.
Drug and Device Makers Find Receptive Audience at For-profit, Southern Hospitals
A ProPublica analysis shows that where a hospital is located and who owns it make a big difference in what share of its doctors take industry payments.
How We Compiled the Dollars for Docs Hospital Data
Our goal was to compare U.S. hospitals based on the percentage of their affiliated physicians who receive payments of various sizes from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
What Percentage of Doctors at Your Hospital Take Drug, Device Payments?
Where a hospital is located makes a big difference in how many of its doctors take payments from drug and medical device companies. See how your state compares and look up your hospital.
Feed Me, Pharma: More Evidence That Industry Meals Are Linked to Costlier Prescribing
A third study shows an association between physician drug choices and their interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. Even doctors who received just one meal were more likely to prescribe certain heavily marketed drugs.
Another Study Finds Link Between Pharma Money and Brand-name Prescribing
The findings, by researchers at Harvard Medical School, are in line with a similar analysis done by ProPublica in March.
Now There’s Proof: Docs Who Get Company Cash Tend to Prescribe More Brand-Name Meds
The more money doctors receive from drug and medical device companies, the more brand-name drugs they tend to prescribe, a new ProPublica analysis shows. Even a meal can make a difference.
ProPublica Adds Teaching Hospitals to Dollars for Docs
All told, more than 1,100 teaching hospitals received nearly $780 million from August 2013 to December 2014, not including research.
Updated Dollars for Docs
This release includes updated data, payments to teaching hospitals, and information about brand-name prescribing rates for some doctors.
Bill Would Add Nurses, Physician Assistants to Pharma Payments Database
Drugmakers disclose their payments to doctors, dentists, even chiropractors. But spending on nurse practitioners and physician assistants is excluded. Legislation in the Senate would change that.
Transparency Program Obscures Pharma Payments to Nurses, Physician Assistants
New data on drug and device company payments to doctors largely excludes nurse practitioners and physician assistants, though they play an ever-larger role in health care. One advanced-practice nurse pleaded guilty last month to taking drug company kickbacks.
New Dollars for Docs
Pharmaceutical and medical device companies paid billions to doctors from late 2013 through 2014, new data shows. Search for your doctor in our interactive database.
A Pharma Payment A Day Keeps Docs’ Finances Okay
New data on payments from drug and device companies to doctors show that many doctors received payments on 100 or more days last year. Some received payments on more days than they didn't.
About the Dollars for Docs Data
Details behind our drug company money database.
Why Pharma Payments to Doctors Were So Hard to Parse
Flaws in information submitted to Open Payments, a government database of financial relationships in the medical field, complicated our analysis.
Vying for Market Share, Companies Heavily Promote ‘Me Too’ Drugs
Our comprehensive analysis of drug company spending on doctors in the last five months of 2013 shows the most-promoted products typically were not cures, breakthroughs or top sellers.
Dollars for Dudes: Almost No Women Among Medical Industry’s Top-Paid Speakers, Consultants
The causes are not clear, but men account for more than 90 percent of the 300 doctors who received the most money from drug and medical device companies, according to new federal data.
$1.1 Billion in Drug, Device Payments to Doctors Not Included in New Federal Database
The new Open Payments database of industry payments to doctors and teaching hospitals is more incomplete than previously known.
Analysis: Government’s New Doctor Payments Website Worthy of a Recall
Our health reporter Charles Ornstein takes a test drive using the federal government's new website for drug and device payments. He finds it virtually unusable.
Our First Dive Into the New Open Payments System
The government's data on payments to doctors and hospitals by drug and device makers is incomplete and hard to penetrate – but here's a first look.
What to be Wary of in the Govt’s New Site Detailing Industry Money to Docs
The government's new website on drug and device company ties to doctors will be incomplete and may be misleading — for now.
What We’ve Learned From Four Years of Diving Into Dollars for Docs
Payments from pharmaceutical companies touch hundreds of thousands of doctors. The 17 companies we've tracked spent $1.4 billion in 2013 year alone. Here are our top five takeaways from following all that money.
More Data to Be Withheld from Database of Physician Payments
The federal government won’t release data next month on some research payments to doctors. Health officials had acknowledged previously that the database wouldn’t include one-third of payments made by pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Government Will Withhold One-Third of the Records from Database of Physician Payments
Many payments to doctors made by pharmaceutical and medical device companies will not be included in the public release of the database next month. Federal officials cite data inconsistencies, say records will be posted next June.
Top Acthar Prescribers in Medicare Have Ties to Its Maker
The top four prescribers of the drug were promotional speakers, researchers or consultants.
Glitch Prompts Temporary Shutdown of Pharma Payment Verification System
The government had to take offline its system for doctors to verify payments from drug companies after at least one doctor had payments attributed to him that actually went to someone else.
Podcast: What to Look for in Federal Release of Payments From Big Pharma
Senior reporter Charles Ornstein on the significance of the data due to be made public next month under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act.
Error: You Have No Payments from Pharma
Doctors checking a soon-to-be-unveiled federal website that will publicly list drug company payments are encountering error messages if they have not accepted industry money.
Leaders of Teaching Hospitals Have Close Ties to Drug Companies, Study Shows
Nearly every large drug maker based in the United States had at least one academic medical center official on its board, raising questions about their independence.
Reporting Recipe: Dollars for Docs
With more data on relationships between doctors and drug companies soon to be released, here are some ways journalists can use this information.
Double Dip: Doctors Paid to Advise, Promote Drug Companies That Fund Their Research
Research has been seen as less objectionable than other forms of interactions with drug companies, but 10 percent of researchers have multiple ties among the nine companies ProPublica analyzed. That raises questions about doctors’ impartiality.
Doctor Payments on the Decline
Pharmaceutical company payments to health care professionals dropped between 2011 and 2012 among most of the companies and categories ProPublica tracks, driven in part by increased transparency as well as blockbuster drugs losing patent protection. Research payments, however, have increased among th
As Full Disclosure Nears, Doctors’ Pay for Drug Talks Plummets
As transparency increases and blockbuster drugs lose patent protection, drug companies have dramatically scaled back payments to doctors for promotional talks. This fall, all drug and medical device companies will be required to report payments to doctors.
Freed of Disclosure Requirement, Drug Maker Pulls Doctor Payments Offline
Drugmaker Cephalon had been required to post its payments to doctors online as part of a lawsuit settlement. After its agreement expired, it removed them from its website.
GlaxoSmithKline to Quit Paying Doctors for Promotional Talks
The sixth-largest drug maker already had begun cutting back on paid speaking, ProPublica’s Dollars for Docs database shows.
Pay to Prescribe? Two Dozen Doctors Named in Novartis Kickback Case
The drug maker denies wrongdoing, but the Justice Department and a whistleblower say Novartis used cash and meals to get doctors to prescribe its drugs.
Heart of Nerd Darkness: Why Updating Dollars for Docs Was So Difficult
We updated Dollars for Docs last week. Why is updating it so difficult?
Get Dollars for Docs Data
Our database drugmaker payments to docs now includes more than $2 billion to hundreds of thousands of physicians.
Explore $2 Billion in Drug Company Payments to Physicians
Has your doctor received drug company money? Search ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database.
Dollars for Docs Mints a Millionaire
New data show drugmakers’ payments to hundreds of thousands of doctors, and some have made well over $500,000.
Dollars for Docs: How to Evaluate Drug Payment Data
Drug companies have long kept secret details of the payments they make to doctors and other health professionals for promoting their drugs. Such payments aren't necessarily wrong, but they can raise ethical issues
Do You Have Concerns About Pharma Payments to Your Doctor?
Help inform our ongoing reporting into the relationship between drug companies and medical professionals.
About the Dollars for Docs Data
Details behind our drug company money database.
Feds to Publicize Drug and Device Company Payments to Doctors Next Year
After a long delay, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published final rules for the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which would bring transparency to financial relationships between physicians and industry.
Chatting With the Reporters Behind Dollars for Docs
Charlie Ornstein and Tracy Weber talk about the money docs get from drug companies, and why it matters.
American Pain Foundation Shuts Down as Senators Launch Investigation of Prescription Narcotics
Sens. Baucus and Grassley demand evidence of financial support from the drug industry to nonprofit groups that advocate use of opioid painkillers, including the newly defunct American Pain Foundation.
Allergan Erases Doctor Payment Records
You can still find some older Allergan payments in ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database, along with data from 11 other drug companies.
Senate Watchdog Targets High-Prescribing Medicaid Docs
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wants to know why an Ohio doctor wrote 54 prescriptions per weekday for the antipsychotic Abilify, while the biggest prescriber of Seroquel wrote an average nine prescriptions per hour.
Drug Companies Reduce Payments to Doctors as Scrutiny Mounts
Continued reporting on the influence of pharmaceutical money on medicine spurred tighter rules at medical schools across the nation.
The Champion of Painkillers
The annual death toll from overdoses of painkillers has reached almost 15,000, prompting the head of the CDC o term it an "epidemic." But the American Pain Foundation continues to claim the risks are overblown. The advocacy group's biggest supporter? The drug industry.
Two Leaders in Pain Treatment Have Long Ties to Drug Industry
American Pain Foundation board members Scott Fishman and Perry Fine, both physicians, have lectured and authored publications funded by makers of narcotic painkillers. They say the support doesn’t bias them.
Government Runs Late With Rules For Disclosing Drug Company Payments to Doctors
The agency responsible for administering health care reform, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, published proposed rules last night, well after its Oct. 1 deadline.
Florida Sanctions Top Medicaid Prescribers — But Only After A Shove
Medicaid programs have long had evidence that a few physicians prescribed risky drugs in excess, but it wasn’t until Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded to know the top prescribers that states began to investigate.
Government Misses Deadline for Rules Forcing Disclosure of Industry Payments to Doctors
The Obama administration has yet to draft rules on the disclosure of industry payments to doctors, missing a deadline set out in last year's health-care law.
Doctors Avoid Penalties in Suits Against Medical Firms
At least 15 drug and medical-device companies have paid $6.5 billion since 2008 to settle accusations of marketing fraud or kickbacks, but none of the more than 75 doctors named as participants were sanctioned.
News Reports Cite Drop in Physician Speaking Fees
Regional newspapers that analyzed ProPublica's Dollars for Docs data say drug company payments to physician speakers have declined in their states, suggesting that new restrictions and publicity are making an impact.
Patients Deserve to Know What Drug Companies Pay Their Doctor
ProPublica's newly updated Dollars for Docs database offers a glimpse of what patients can expect in 2013, when all drug and medical-device companies must report to the federal government what they pay doctors to help market their products.
Doctors Dine on Drug Companies’ Dime
Hundreds of thousands of doctors have accepted free meals from pharmaceutical companies that invite them to scientific or educational sessions. At least 20 physicians accepted more than $2,000 worth of meals from one company last year, ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database shows.
Piercing the Veil, More Drug Companies Reveal Payments to Doctors
An update of ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database includes more than $760 million in payments from 12 pharmaceutical companies to physicians and other health-care providers for consulting, speaking, research and expenses.
With Our Dollars for Docs Update Coming, Drug Companies Defend ‘Interactions’ With Physicians
As ProPublica gets ready to refresh its Dollars for Docs database listing payments from drug companies to hundreds of thousands of doctors, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says paid physician speakers play a critical role in improving patient care.
Emails Show Drug Company Used Third-Party Medical Groups to Influence Regulators, Undercut Rivals
Two medical groups recruited to lobby the Food and Drug Administration against generic versions of a Sanofi-Aventis blood-thinner each received millions from the manufacturer.
Reports Detail More Drug Industry Ties to Medical Societies
Recommendations made by two medical societies give at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Medical Schools Plug Holes in Conflict-of-Interest Policies
Reacting to ProPublica's Dollars for Docs coverage, Stanford and other schools discipline doctors, rewrite policies and increase scrutiny of drug-industry ties.
Cardiac Society Draws Bulk of Funding From Stent Makers
The Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions got more than half its income in 2009 from medical device and pharmaceutical makers. This week, a study in JAMA questioned why more patients who received angioplasty and stents didn’t first receive recommended medications.
Heart Docs Reject Claims Of Bias From Industry Money
Many physicians attending the Heart Rhythm Society conference see little cause for concern in the financial ties between medical societies and industry.
Heart Society’s Tip Sheets Fail To Mention Risks
The Heart Rhythm Society says the financial support it receives from drug and medical-device makers plays no role in its advocacy for certain treatments, but does not mention potential risks in its publications.
Financial Ties Bind Medical Societies to Drug and Device Makers
Professional groups like the Heart Rhythm Society write guidelines on treatments and the use of medical devices, but researchers say their acceptance of sponsorships and grants from drug and device makers poses a conflict of interest that many patients never consider.
The Heart Rhythm Society Responds to ProPublica’s Questions
The Heart Rhythm Society a set of questions about potential conflicts of interest regarding the group’s acceptance of drug and device industry marketing money.
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.
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. Use this interactive graphic to find out how companies got their names seen.
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.
How Much Money Do Groups Receive From Industry?
In a response to a request from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, 33 professional associations and health advocacy groups listed their payments from the pharmaceutical, medical device and insurance industries.
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 have failed to adequately enforce policies that restrict faculty physicians for being paid for speaking by drug companies.
In Minnesota, Drug Company Reports of Payments to Doctors Arrive Riddled With Mistakes
Drug company reports of payments to Minnesota doctors show the difficulty in obtaining accurate records.
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
In the wake of our Dollars for Docs investigation, drug companies say they will more closely scrutinize the docs they pay to speak or promote their drugs.
Dollars for Docs: Who’s On Pharma’s Top-Paid List?
Physicians on ProPublica’s Dollars for Docs list come from varied backgrounds, juggle big practices while promoting drugs on the side
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
In lawsuits, former drug reps say that doctors were paid to push off-label uses of drugs.
Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials
Hundreds of doctors paid to promote companies’ drugs have been accused of professional misconduct, disciplined by state boards or lacked credentials, ProPublica has found.
Consumer Reports: Most Patients Worry About Pharma Payments to Doctors
Patients worry that a doctor who gets paid to promote a drug could impact the care they get, a survey shows.
- Search through nearly 15 million records to see if your doctor has received money from a drug or device company. Search for your physician.
- Get the data that powers this investigation. A complete, digital download is available for purchase in the Data Store.
