Tuesday, October 19, 2010

ProPublica Launches Database On Docs Taking $$

The website ProPublica, "Journalism in the Public Interest," has several articles about physicians accepting gifts (aka bribes) from drug companies, and also announces its searchable database, "Dollars for Docs":
http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/

As seven firms have now begun to post payments to physicians on their websites, ProPublica says that they've combined the data on their site. Apparently the Chicago Tribune has already based an investigative reporting piece on this database:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/docdollars/ct-met-doctors-drug-dollars-20101018,0,2745754.story

Just to check it out , I put in the names of two of my colleagues in this area, neither of whom make any bones about accepting lots of funds from Pharma. One did not show up at all and the other was listed as having received two payments for less than $10,000 total. So it would appear that the data are far from complete.

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