Talking With Your Doctor About Pharmaceutical Company Payments
Preparing for Your Conversation
ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database lets people search for payments to healthcare professionals made by 15 pharmaceutical companies, which account for about 47 percent of U.S. drug sales. The database includes the following payment record:
- Payee: SEATTLE ARTHRITIS CLINIC, THE
- Amount paid: $4,533
- Company paying: Amgen
- Payment for: Research
- Listed practitioner: RICHARD ALAN HOUDEK JIMENEZ
- Location: SEATTLE, Wash.
- Reported: Jan. to Dec. 2013 Research
Send this link to your doctor
If your doctor would like a link to this payment information in our database, send them to .
Amgen produces the following notable drugs:
- Arenesp (Anemia via kidney failure or chemotherapy)
- Enbrel (Rheumatoid arthritis, psioratic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, plaque psoriasis in adults, juvenile idiopathic arthritis)
- Epogen (Anemia)
- Kyprolis (Multiple myeloma)
- Neulasta (Makes white blood cells, prevents infections during cancer treatments)
- Neupogen (Makes white blood cells, prevents infections during cancer treatments)
- Nplate (Chronic immune thrombocytopenia)
- Prolia (Osteoporosis, bone cancer, bone related problems in cancer patients)
- Sensipar (Lowers calcium in blood)
- Vectibix (Metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum)
- Xgeva (Osteoporosis, bone cancer, bone related problems in cancer patients)
Important notes
Research payments are distinct from speaking and consulting. Payments for clinical studies may include costs associated with patient care, supplies, as well as the time spent by health care professionals treating patients and managing the study. The figure listed does not reflect the actual compensation received by the physician listed as the principal investigator.
ProPublica received this record from Pharmashine.
Things to keep in mind before speaking to your doctor
- Many healthcare professionals in our database have similar names, so you should start by asking your doctor if the person mentioned in this payment record is really him/her.
- Pharmaceutical companies make payments for many reasons, from research to speaking to consulting. They payments are legal, but studies show they can influence a doctor's prescribing decisions.
- Your doctor may not know he or she is listed in Dollars for Docs, especially if the payments are small.
Questions to Ask
Questions you might want to ask your healthcare professional
- What are the specific circumstances of this payment?
- What is your current relationship with this drug company?
- What drugs have you prescribed me that are manufactured by companies you've taken payments from?
- Are there non-drug alternatives that I may want to consider first?
- Are there less expensive generic alternatives to the drugs you have prescribed?
For additional information on Amgen's notable drugs
Amgen provides a list of all of its drugs at http://www.amgen.com/medpro/products.html. To read how Amgen describes its relationship with healthcare professionals, read more at: http://www.amgen.com/about/clearly-physicians.html.