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Pharmaceutical industry self-regulation and non-transparency: country and company level analysis of payments to healthcare professionals in seven European countries

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  • Mulinari, Shai
  • Martinon, Luc
  • Jachiet, Pierre-Alain
  • Ozieranski, Piotr

Abstract

The European pharmaceutical industry uses the alleged efficacy of self-regulation to question the need for transparency laws similar to the US Physician Payment Sunshine Act. We conducted a comparative analysis of 20 large companies’ payment disclosures in seven European countries in 2017–2019. The data was extracted as part of eurosfordocs.eu, a novel transparency project that scrapes and integrates publicly available databases and disclosures. Our analysis of EUR 735 million showed marked differences in country payment patterns. For example, payment totals per registered doctor were substantially larger in Spain and lowest in Sweden. There were significant country and company differences in individualized data completeness. Only 19% of totals were reported with recipient names in Germany, compared to Ireland (59%), the United Kingdom (60%), Italy (67%), Switzerland (73%), Sweden (79%) and Spain (100%), with little or no improvement over time. Payment data in Spain was particularly difficult to extract. Thus, in no country did self-regulation generate comprehensive individualized data allowing for building an accurate picture of financial relationships between the industry and healthcare professionals. We conclude that the cultures and policies of countries and companies create structural problems of data inaccessibility and incompleteness within the self-regulatory framework. Therefore, this study supports calls for a Europe-wide “Sunshine Act” to achieve real transparency of drug company payments.

Suggested Citation

  • Mulinari, Shai & Martinon, Luc & Jachiet, Pierre-Alain & Ozieranski, Piotr, 2021. "Pharmaceutical industry self-regulation and non-transparency: country and company level analysis of payments to healthcare professionals in seven European countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(7), pages 915-922.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:125:y:2021:i:7:p:915-922
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2021.04.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jorge Mejia & Amanda Mejia & Franco Pestilli, 2019. "Open data on industry payments to healthcare providers reveal potential hidden costs to the public," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Ozaki, Akihiko & Saito, Hiroaki & Senoo, Yuki & Sawano, Toyoaki & Shimada, Yuki & Kobashi, Yurie & Yamamoto, Kana & Suzuki, Yosuke & Tanimoto, Tetsuya, 2020. "Overview and transparency of non-research payments to healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals from pharmaceutical companies in Japan: Analysis of payment data in 2016," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(7), pages 727-735.
    3. Grundy, Quinn & Habibi, Roojin & Shnier, Adrienne & Mayes, Christopher & Lipworth, Wendy, 2018. "Decoding disclosure: Comparing conflict of interest policy among the United States, France, and Australia," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(5), pages 509-518.
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    Cited by:

    1. Moriarty, Frank & Larkin, James & Fahey, Tom, 2021. "Payments reported by the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland from 2015 to 2019: An observational study," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(10), pages 1297-1304.
    2. Mulinari, Shai & Pashley, Dylan & Ozieranski, Piotr, 2022. "Advancing international comparison of pharmaceutical industry funding of patient advocacy: Focus on Denmark," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(12), pages 1256-1262.
    3. Chen, Fu & Zhang, Wanyue & Chen, Run & Jiang, Feifei & Ma, Jing & Zhu, Xinhua, 2024. "Adapting carbon neutrality: Tailoring advanced emission strategies for developing countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).

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