GlaxoSmithKline To End Payment To Docs Who Promote Its Drugs

One of the world’s biggest drug manufacturers, GlaxoSmithKline, announced last week that it will phase out payments made to doctors who promote its medications starting next year. Sales representatives’ pay will also no longer be linked to the number of prescriptions written. This, the company hopes, will help put an end to a long-standing conflict of interests, the New York Times reports.

We can only hope that other drug companies follow suit in the immediate future.

The drug industry has long relied on doctors speaking publically in support of their products, with companies paying doctors to appear at conferences and other meetings. While the basis for the practice has always been that doctors are more likely to listen to their colleagues, detractors have pointed out that impartiality is lost when medical professionals are paid directly by drug manufacturers. Sales representatives, meanwhile, have long had their pay linked directly to the number of prescriptions written by doctors in their area, encouraging staff to push medications even when not in patients’ best interest.

GSK will become the first major drug manufacturer to stop paying doctors for promoting its drugs. The company will continue to pay consulting fees to medical professionals as part of its market research.

Michael Goetz, a defective drug attorney at Morgan & Morgan, hailed the move:

“It is encouraging to see a major drug company moving away from decades-old practices involving clear conflicts of interest. This shift in policy will undoubtedly result in a reduction of inappropriate prescriptions and, therefore, greater patient safety. We can only hope that other drug companies follow suit in the immediate future.”

While the exact reasons behind the policy change aren’t known, GSK is currently part of a bribery investigation in China, while new U.S. health laws will make it mandatory for drug companies to publically reveal all payments made to doctors as of next year. It is possible that Glaxo is simply moving preemptively to stop the full scale of its marketing payments from being revealed.

Starting in 2015, sales staff worldwide will be paid based on their knowledge, service and skill, rather than prescriptions filled, reflecting a change made in the U.S. in 2011. The New York Times reports that the GSK’s U.S. policy followed a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Justice.

Other manufacturers could soon follow GSK’s decision, as they worry about the new healthcare provisions’ requirement of fuller disclosure, as well as the general change in attitudes toward doctors who are paid to promote specific medications. For now, though, Glaxo remains the first to suggest ending the payments all together. Instead, grants to educational institutions - independent, unsolicited, and not partnered with corporations – could become the norm, a spokesman suggested.

For patients and doctors alike, that would be a good thing. Transparency and accountability – so long lacking in the pharmaceutical industry – can only serve to keep patients more informed and doctors more focused on the individuals they’re trying to help.