One provision of the Affordable Care Act makes the payments pharmaceutical companies give to medical professionals public.
The federal government released data Tuesday under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
In the latter months of 2013, US doctors accepted nearly 1.4 billion dollars from drug companies for promotional speaking, consulting, meals, educational items and research, according to online news organization ProPublica.
Chief Quality Officer at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, Robert Panzer says the hospital has a policy to prevent staff from conflicts of interest. He says the doctors are prohibited from taking gifts of any size.
Panzer explains the policy enacted in 2008 is clear, “We don't, as faculty, accept pens, pads, and other things, because the science says that people are affected by gifts even if they're small.”
Charles Ornstein, ProPublica Senior Reporter, says rules like the one at Strong are becoming more common.
“You are seeing hospitals that are being much more mindful about the relationships that their doctors have because they're concerned about actual conflicts of interest, but also the appearance of conflicts of interest,” reports Ornstein.
Doctors in New York State received more than 2.5 million dollars in payments from drug companies between 2009 and 2013.