Set up national registry to capture pharma company payments to clinicians and patient support groups
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A national registry to capture all pharma/medical device industry payments and other benefits made to all clinicians, healthcare organizations and patient support groups should be set up as a matter of urgency in the UK, insists an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. The UK government has been dragging its feet on the issue despite the recommendations of a key review published in July last year, and the support of most organizations that represent doctors for mandatory reporting, contends dtb Deputy Editor David Phizackerley. One of the nine recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDSR) into the avoidable harms caused by hormone pregnancy tests, sodium valproate, and pelvic mesh implants, focused on financial links between drugs and medical devices companies and clinicians, hospitals, and other organizations. Evidence submitted to the review highlighted the lack of transparency surrounding industry payments/benefits in …