As the opioid crisis worsened over the years, we began looking for people to blame. Manufacturers, doctors, patients, pharmacies – anyone was fair game. In fact, there have been lawsuits filed against both the manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids, as well as the pharmacies that dispense them. We know that the makers of many of these medications were guilty of false advertising, promising the drugs were safe and non-addictive, as this is what many of the lawsuits are based on. What you might not know is that some of the doctors who overprescribed opioids weren’t just ignorant of the facts; they actually took money from the manufacturers.
According to a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine in June 2018, physicians who received any opioid-related payments from the pharmaceutical industry in 2014 had 9.3% more opioid claims in 2015 than doctors who did not receive any such payments. Using the Open Payments database, they examined all non-research payments related to opioids, which includes things like speaking fees and meals. 369,139 doctors prescribed opioids under Medicare Part D in 2015. Of those, seven percent collected non-research payments totaling about $9 million. The 3 companies that received the highest payment amounts were INSYS Therapeutics (which manufactures Subsys, a fentanyl sublingual spray ($4,538,286), Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, another fentanyl producer and the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer ($869,155), and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which makes a variety of synthetic opioids including carfentanil, alfentanil, and sufentanil ($854,251).
You might be wondering if it’s illegal for drug companies to pay doctors. A law called the Medicare Anti-Kickback Statute, it is illegal for a doctor to receive compensation for referring a patient to either a particular service or a certain medication when it will be for paid in whole or in part by a federal health care program. Also, under HIPAA regulations, the Department of Health and Human Services can fine a physician who provides a patient’s private health information for marketing purposes without specific authorization and disclosure of the compensation involved.
So, the short answer is: yes, bribery is illegal. However, most of these doctors aren’t directly taking money from pharmaceutical companies in exchange for prescribing their drugs. Instead, the drug manufacturers will hire physicians for speaking engagements, and the doctors will be paid a speaking fee, as well as given money for food and lodgings. The companies bought 97,020 meals at a total cost of $1.8 million, speaking fees accounted for $6.2 million, $730,824 went toward travel, and $290,395 was in consulting fees. None of the $9 million uncovered in the study was used to fund medical research.
Of course, there’s no concrete evidence here that the money paid by these companies was directly related to the increase in certain doctors prescribing more opioids, but it does seem suspicious as a time when most physicians are trying to cut back on the amount they recommend.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504.
