ProPublica Analysis Finds Drug Company Payments Influence Physician Brand-Name Prescribing

Physicians who accept payments, gratuities, or gifts from the pharmaceutical and medical device industry have different prescribing patterns than physicians who do not accept payments or gifts. Those physicians who accepted payments were two to three times more likely to prescribe branded medications. Physicians who received more than $5,000 from pharmaceutical and medical device companies for promotional speaking, consulting, meals, travel, gifts, or royalties had the highest Medicare brand-name prescribing percentages. Among internists who received no payments the branded prescribing rate averaged 20%, compared to 30% for those internists who received more than $5,000. Among psychiatrists, the . . .