Is your doctor on the list? A look at how much ‘Big Pharma’ pays Wisconsin doctors. New data available through federal health care reform reveals 425 Wisconsin doctors received nearly $3.9 million in payments from big pharmaceutical companies during an 18-month period.
Pro Publica, an independent, nonprofit investigative journalism group, found some 17,000 American doctors were paid for speaking to and consulting with other physicians regarding pharmaceutical products from January of 2009 through July of this year.
Two firms accounted for the bulk of money paid Wisconsin doctors. Eli Lilly, which produces drugs such as Prozac and Cialis, was the leading spender in Wisconsin, funneling more than $1.8 million to 133 Wisconsin doctors during the period. GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Nicoderm and Boniva, distributed more than $1.2 million to 129 doctors.
AstraZeneca, maker of Prilosec, spent more than $300,000 on 33 Wisconsin doctors, while Pfizer, the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company, spent $294,000 on payments to 74 doctors. Johnson and Johnson, Merck and Cephalon – spent between $33,000 and $146,000.
Pro Publica’s database only includes the seven companies that have disclosed payments nationwide. Doctors may or may not get money from companies not included in the database.