Industry paid $6.5bn to US physicians and hospitals in 2014

Drug and medical device makers paid $6.49bn (£4.2bn; €5.9bn) to physicians and teaching hospitals in the United States last year, reported the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.1

The transactions were detailed in an open access database, called Open Payments, that provides information on more than 11.4 million financial transactions reported for the year between the industry and more than 600 000 physicians and 1100 teaching hospitals.

The Open Payments program, which was created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, requires drug and device manufacturers to report all “transfers of value” to healthcare providers and teaching hospitals. These range from research grants to honorariums, speaking fees, travel expenses and meals, and payments …