Big NYT Doctor Payment Story Today; Folks at Pfizer and Amgen Groaning Loudly in Their Cubicles...

The NYT looks at drug company payments to doctors in Minnesota and finds that "through 2005, drug makers paid more than 5,500 doctors, nurses and other health care workers in the state at least $57 million. Another $40 million went to clinics, research centers and other organizations. More than 20 percent of the state’s licensed physicians received money. The median payment per consultant was $1,000; more than 100 people received more than $100,000."

The story singles out Amgen (for its kidney drugs), GSK (for Imitrex) and Pfizer (for—you guessed it—Lipitor) as handing out particularly large checks

This story is old news to anyone in the business. I did a version of it two years ago.

And many in the industry will be angered that the talking heads quoted are Jamie Reidy, Katherine Slattery Moschkau and—again, you guessed it—Marcia Angell, all prominent critics of the biz who haven't worked in it for years.

Bottom line: despite the story's age and its choice of yakkers, the issues it raises remain true: paying the middleman (ie a doctor) is always a conflict of interest, and medicine is one of those areas where patients don't like conflicts. Want to see the end of these type of stories? Then end payments to prescribing physicians.

I'm expecting an angry post from Peter Pitts at DrugWonks any second now...

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