Mr. Coukell: Transparency is good for everyone. When the Institute of Medicine did its report on conflict of interest in 2009, this was one of its major recommendations and it was part of restoring trust in the profession. I think having these relationships out in the open and having a healthy public dialogue is helpful. It’s also a chance for the drug and device companies to be able to provide context to the payments. Right now, there’s not much context. You may hear that a doctor gets a big payment, but is that going into his pocket or is it to cover the cost of tests or procedures for a clinical trial? Bringing some real substantive information to this is going to be beneficial to everybody.
Allan Coukell oversees the Pew Prescription Project, which conducts nonpartisan research related to federal oversight of drug safety. He previously practiced as a clinical pharmacist in oncology and bone marrow transplant at Victoria Hospital and London Regional Cancer Center in London, Ontario.