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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121297210499055941.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Harvard Researchers Fail
To Report Drug Paymentsundefined
By DAVID ARMSTRONG
June 9, 2008; Page A2
Three prominent Harvard University psychiatrists underreported payments they received from drug makers, a situation that highlights the need for a national reporting system of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians, according to Sen. Charles Grassley.
Sen. Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, said his staff compared records of payments provided by drug makers with conflict-of-interest forms the three psychiatrists provided to the university and Massachusetts General Hospital, where they practice. The university and hospital disclosures made it appear that the psychiatrists -- Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer and Timothy Wilens -- were making only a "couple hundred thousand dollars" over a seven-year period beginning in 2000.
After Sen. Grassley began his inquiry, the university and hospital asked the doctors to take a second look at the amounts they received from drug companies. Sen. Grassley said this prompted Dr. Biederman and Dr. Wilens to report revised totals of more than $1.6 million each in payments from drug companies between 2000 and 2007. Dr. Spencer reported receiving more than $1 million, according to Sen. Grassley.
The amounts may be even higher, Sen. Grassley says, because drug-company records indicate the doctors were still reporting amounts lower than what the pharmaceutical makers say they were paid.
Dr. Biederman is a controversial figure whose research on childhood bipolar disorder is criticized by some for leading to a huge number of young children being placed on powerful and potentially dangerous medications. He didn't return a telephone message seeking comment. Attempts to contact the other doctors were unsuccessful.
Sen. Grassley said the current method for disclosing conflicts of interest among medical researchers is an honor system in which researchers report their relationships with drug and medical-device makers, but nobody checks to make sure the information is accurate.
"Why weren't Harvard and Mass General watching over these doctors?" Sen. Grassley said in comments reported in the Congressional Record. "The answer is simple: They trusted these physicians to honestly report this money."
He is calling for a national reporting system in which drug companies disclose payments to doctors.
The results of Sen. Grassley's review were reported by the New York Times on Sunday.
Write to David Armstrong at [email protected]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121297210499055941.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Harvard Researchers Fail
To Report Drug Paymentsundefined
By DAVID ARMSTRONG
June 9, 2008; Page A2
Three prominent Harvard University psychiatrists underreported payments they received from drug makers, a situation that highlights the need for a national reporting system of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians, according to Sen. Charles Grassley.
Sen. Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, said his staff compared records of payments provided by drug makers with conflict-of-interest forms the three psychiatrists provided to the university and Massachusetts General Hospital, where they practice. The university and hospital disclosures made it appear that the psychiatrists -- Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer and Timothy Wilens -- were making only a "couple hundred thousand dollars" over a seven-year period beginning in 2000.
After Sen. Grassley began his inquiry, the university and hospital asked the doctors to take a second look at the amounts they received from drug companies. Sen. Grassley said this prompted Dr. Biederman and Dr. Wilens to report revised totals of more than $1.6 million each in payments from drug companies between 2000 and 2007. Dr. Spencer reported receiving more than $1 million, according to Sen. Grassley.
The amounts may be even higher, Sen. Grassley says, because drug-company records indicate the doctors were still reporting amounts lower than what the pharmaceutical makers say they were paid.
Dr. Biederman is a controversial figure whose research on childhood bipolar disorder is criticized by some for leading to a huge number of young children being placed on powerful and potentially dangerous medications. He didn't return a telephone message seeking comment. Attempts to contact the other doctors were unsuccessful.
Sen. Grassley said the current method for disclosing conflicts of interest among medical researchers is an honor system in which researchers report their relationships with drug and medical-device makers, but nobody checks to make sure the information is accurate.
"Why weren't Harvard and Mass General watching over these doctors?" Sen. Grassley said in comments reported in the Congressional Record. "The answer is simple: They trusted these physicians to honestly report this money."
He is calling for a national reporting system in which drug companies disclose payments to doctors.
The results of Sen. Grassley's review were reported by the New York Times on Sunday.
Write to David Armstrong at [email protected]
