Drug companies quietly funnel funds to doctors
Pay for continuing education lectures not made public
WASHINGTON — Fancy steak dinners, junkets at lush resorts, and cushy speaking gigs to promote new drugs have been on the wane since lawmakers forced drug companies to disclose most of the ways they steered lucrative perks and consulting fees to doctors.
But critics say the stream of drug money to top physicians has flourished on a route that remains largely hidden: the continuing education programs that doctors must attend to keep their licenses.
Federal law allows pharmaceutical and medical device companies to funnel millions of dollars a year, without disclosure, to doctors who teach continuing education programs. The conduits for the money are independent companies that sponsor medical lectures for doctors. Since 2011, drug industry payments to these outside companies have risen 25 percent, to $311 million in 2014, according to a Boston Globe analysis.
Doctors who deliver the lectures typically receive between $2,000 and $3,000 per appearance.
