Extra Dollars for Docs

Late in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve, a fascinating e-mail arrived from Medscape, which describes itself as “the leading online destination used by physicians.” The e-mail included a section entitled, “Six Ways to Earn Extra Income from Medical Activities.” Number four was “Team Up With Pharmaceutical Companies.” The text included the following:

Drug and device companies spend billions of dollars each year to discover and promote new medicines and treatments, and they rely heavily on doctors to participate in these endeavors whether through clinical trials or serving as a speaker or consultant. It’s not uncommon for physicians to earn a minimum of 5 figures a year either speaking or doing clinical studies within their medical practice. Some doctors make in excess of $100,000 annually on top of their income from seeing patients … With typical payments running about $1,500-$2,500 for a single talk, there’s substantial opportunity to supplement your regular income.

In an attempt to balance the lure of an extra $100,000 annually, Medscape did admit, “These arrangements are coming under increasing scrutiny from hospitals, legislators, regulators, and the media. In fact, some of the doctors whom we contacted for this article declined to talk about their involvement with drug companies.”

It came as no surprise that the e-mail did not mention ProPublica’s excellent website, “Dollars for Docs” (http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars), which lists the amount of money received by more than 32,000 U.S. physicians from seven drug companies. If Medscape had mentioned it, doctors who went to the site could have found the names of 384 physicians who earned more than $100,000 each from the drug industry in 2009 and early 2010, almost entirely from speaking fees and consulting.

In case there are some doctors who are squeamish about being spokespersons or consultants for drug companies, other options for earning extra money suggested by Medscape included consulting for Wall Street to help financial professionals who analyze health care companies decide what to invest in.

That Medscape and its parent, WebMD (“Better Information, Better Health”) know about earning big bucks is clear from a look at the compensation of WebMD’s chairman, Martin Wygod, whose salary in 2009 was $848,077, with an extra $1,235,000 in the form of a bonus.

Back to New Year’s Eve. I hope there were not too many physicians receiving this e-mail who decided to team up with the pharmaceutical industry. There are already far too many engaging in this kind of medical activity, something that is not likely in the best interests of patients. Doctors receiving such large amounts from drug companies for speaking and consulting on their behalf may not be adequately objective in deciding which drugs to use to treat their patients.