Disclosing payments from drug companies should be mandatory for doctors, says academy

Plans by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) to bring in a system where healthcare professionals voluntarily declare payments and hospitality received from drug companies do not go far enough, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has said, calling for disclosure to be mandatory.

Thousands of healthcare professionals are expected to opt out of disclosing details of payments or hospitality from drug companies when the ABPI introduces a new database next year in an attempt to improve transparency.

The ABPI currently publishes aggregate details of the amounts drug companies spend on healthcare professionals for consultancy services or attending meetings. In 2014 this was about £41m (€58m; $64m), covering around 28 000 relationships1—although one healthcare professional may have a relationship with more than one drug company, so the overall number receiving payments is likely to …