Drug companies will be required to reveal the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel, and entertainment as part of the Obama administration's new health-care law.
The New York Times reported that about a quarter of doctors take cash payments from pharmaceutical and device companies, while nearly two-thirds accept gifts of food, including dinners.
The Times has found that doctors who take money from drug makers often practice medicine differently from those who do not and that they are more willing to prescribe drugs in risky and unapproved ways, such as prescribing powerful antipsychotic medicines for children.
Any payment over $10 must be reported, even if the company delivers a batch of bagels for a morning staff meeting worth $25, according to the paper.
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