Medical device companies are paying British hospitals millions of pounds to promote their products, such as implants, heart valves and diagnostic equipment, while funding staffing, training and awareness campaigns. revealed in a new report.
The journal's study found that an analysis of disclosures by medical device companies revealed that between 2017 and 2019, payments to European healthcare providers amounted to €425m (£367m at current rates). It turned out that this was the case. Medical policy and medical technology.
Both companies reported paying more than €37 million to UK hospitals and other healthcare providers over three years. The disclosures also include payments to some of the UK's largest hospital trusts.
One of the study authors, James Larkin, a postdoctoral fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, said the application did not include consultancy fees for medical staff and many companies did not register the payments. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “There is a huge amount of undisclosed payments. The descriptions of the disclosed payments are very vague and it is not entirely clear what they are for.”
There are concerns that payments from pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to health organizations may influence clinical decisions to use certain medicines and products.of observer revealed last year that payments to UK healthcare providers and professionals will reach a record £200m in 2022.
Since 2016, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries (ABPI) has been publishing a database called Disclosure UK for pharmaceutical companies to disclose payments to medical institutions and individuals. Payments from medical device companies are not included.
The new report analyzed a disclosure database that records payments made from diagnosis to treatment by members of MedTech Europe, the European trade association representing the medical technology industry. Disclosures are recorded in the transparentmedtech.eu database and cover educational grants, fellowships and public awareness campaigns.
Multinational pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has revealed its largest payout of €184 million to 27 countries. US company Abbott Laboratories paid 44 million euros.
The report states: “These payments provide an opportunity for medical device companies to have a variety of impacts. [organisations] Hospitals, universities, professional training institutions, etc. all have a significant impact on medical practice. ” The potential for conflicts of interest highlights the need for a publicly mandated disclosure database, he said.
In the UK, Johnson & Johnson, which makes products such as hip implants and surgical robots, is working with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Barts Health NHS Foundation Trust, and South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It makes “educational” payments to several hospital trusts, including the Trust. . Edwards Lifesciences, a US company that makes heart valves, has made payments to at least five NHS hospital trusts. This includes a £67,650 grant in 2022 to fund a 'nurse educator' at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to support the delivery of a valve transplant programme.
A review entitled First Do No Harm, published by Julia Cumberlage in July 2020, examined how the UK healthcare system responds to patient reports of side effects from treatments. Concerns have been raised regarding payments from manufacturers to doctors and medical institutions.
Mrs Cumberlage's report said there were public concerns that such payments could affect medical practice and recommended that registration be made compulsory. Last year, the government consulted on the possibility of introducing regulations that would require disclosure of industry payments to the healthcare sector.
Jonathan Evans, communications director at the British Healthtech Industry Association (ABHI), the UK's leading medical technology industry body, said the relationship between medical device companies and healthcare professionals is critical to improving safety and patient outcomes. He said there is. “This is necessary to support training, education and product development that can promote the best possible patient care,” he said.
Mr Evans added that under ABHI's code of conduct, all transactions between businesses and healthcare workers will be reported to NHS employers.
Johnson & Johnson said it values transparency and supports mandatory disclosure of education grants. He has contacted Abbott Laboratories and Edwards Lifesciences for comment.
The hospital trust said it has strict policies in place to manage conflicts of interest and income from collaborations with medical device companies.
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said: 'We are one of the largest and most research-active trusts in the country, working with medical device companies to develop better treatments that improve the quality of patient care. We are working on the development of
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Transparency is vital to the health system and doctors are already required to declare conflicts of interest.” Last fall, we consulted on proposals for disclosure of industry payments to the health sector. We are considering responses to the consultation and will publish our responses shortly. ”