The data also show that many Harvard-affiliated doctors have dropped out of company speakers bureaus, a sideline that has allowed many physicians to earn tens of thousands of dollars.
In 2009 and the first half of 2010, doctors and researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School - a brand prized by pharmaceutical companies as a powerful tool in promoting drugs - collected a large portion of the speaking fees paid by drug companies, according to a similar analysis the news organizations conducted a year ago. But new data for 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 reveal that many Harvard doctors have stopped giving promotional talks as new limits have been phased in.
“There’s just a growing recognition, at least for academic physicians, that participation in speakers bureaus is inappropriate,’’ said Eric Campbell, a health care policy professor at Harvard.
This time, ProPublica and the Globe analyzed data posted on the websites of 12 companies, which are disclosing payments because of pressure from lawmakers or as part of settlements of federal lawsuits. Eight companies that reported payments for all of 2010 doled out $3.7 million to Massachusetts speakers. Comparisons with 2009 could be made for only Lilly and GSK.
Partners HealthCare, the parent organization of Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, prohibited doctors from participating in promotional drug company speakers bureaus as of January 2010, out of concern that physicians could lose their objectivity, and might be viewed as mouthpieces for industry rather than as unbiased caregivers.
A similar ban by Harvard Medical School took effect this July. Other academic medical centers in the state have likewise adopted rules limiting company-sponsored speaking, during which doctors typically show slides created or approved by the company that are designed to promote specific drugs or the diagnosis of diseases treated by those drugs.
