Stanford University’s school of medicine will publicly disclose pharma industry payments to its faculty and physicians, whenever those payments exceed $5,000 per year.
The policy will go into effect by the end of 2009, and cover an estimated 1,200 Stanford-affiliated individuals, the university said yesterday. Payments will be posted to the faculty members’ online profiles, along with any royalties received from inventions or discoveries.
“Industry collaborations are critical to furthering research efforts and innovative patient care, but at the same time, concerns over these activities are eroding the public trust,” said Philip Pizzo, dean of Stanford’s medical school, in a statement.
Physicians employed by Stanford are already prohibited from accepting biomedical industry gifts, including drug samples, on the medical campus or at off-site clinical facilities. As of last September, direct commercial CME sponsorship was banned, although companies can provide dollars designated for general categories. In those cases, funds are routed through Stanford’s Office of Continuing Medical Education.
Earlier this week, JAMA called on professional medical associations and societies to sever all ties with the drug industry, excepting journal advertising and exhibit hall fees.
