Talking With Your Doctor About Pharmaceutical Company Payments

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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: JACOBS, ALAN ROY
• Amount paid: $16
• Company paying: Merck
• Payment for: Food and Beverage


• Listed practitioner: ALAN ROY JACOBS
• Location: BROOKLYN, N.Y.
• Reported: Jan. to Dec. 2013

Important notes

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.

For additional information on Merck's notable drugs

• Dulera
• Emend
• Invanz
• Isentress
• Janumet
• Januvia
• Nasonex
• NuvaRing
• Vytorin
• Zetia

Merck provides a list of all of its drugs at http://www.merck.com/product/prescription-products/home.html. To read how Merck describes its relationship with healthcare professionals, read more at: http://www.merckresponsibility.com/focus-areas/ethics-transparency/transparency-disclosures/payments-to-u-s-based-healthcare-professionals/.