By Lauryn Schroeder
The San Diego Union Tribune
Originally published July 29, 2015
Doctors in San Diego County received $84 million in payouts from drug and medical device companies last year, according to federal data.
Health professionals received payments for services such as consulting, promotional speaking and research, as well as gifts in the form of meals and entertainment, according to a review of federal data by The San Diego Union-Tribune. More than 107,000 transactions were documented.
The information is being gathered and disclosed as part of a federal effort to bring more transparency to relationships that could lead to conflicts of interest, if doctors take money or gifts and then prescribe certain drugs.
The San Diego data was dominated by some larger transactions, such as a doctor collecting royalties on an invention, or a La Jolla couple who recently sold their medical device maker to one of the large drug companies.
The entire article is here.
