The medical device maker Medtronic has announced it will voluntarily disclose payments to U.S. physicians.
The company will begin capturing payment data for all of its businesses on January 1, 2010 and will publicly report this information annually.
Medtronic will report the amount paid in consulting fees, royalties or honoraria for physicians who receive payments of $5,000 or more per year from the company. Consulting agreements include counsel for areas such as education and training, clinical trial design and administration and product design and safety.
The company currently plans to report this data on its company Web site.
The first disclosure will occur in March of 2011 and address payments made to physicians during calendar year 2010. Company officials said they would commission an annual third-party audit to demonstrate Medtronic's commitment to the accuracy of the postings and would make a summary of the audit results public.
"Relationships between industry and doctors are essential to innovation, education and training in our industry," said Bill Hawkins, Medtronic's chairman and CEO. "Through greater transparency about the nature of these relationships, we will help people better understand how important they are to developing life-saving and enhancing products for patients who need them."
Medtronic initiated a first step toward greater transparency when it launched its online Donations Registry in August 2008. The registry makes public donations given by Medtronic to U.S. customers or organizations affiliated with customers, including patient groups and medical societies.
Hawkins said the company has supported proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate, known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which would require that all medical device manufacturers publicly disclose payments made to physicians for their inventions and assistance in product development, research and training.
"We will work hard with the bill sponsors to get this legislation passed," said Hawkins. "These efforts will ensure a level playing field and consistency in reporting."