Drugs to treat ADHD are the products most commonly promoted to general pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists by industry, according to a recent analysis of Sunshine Act payments.
Researchers examined nearly 245,000 payments made in calendar 2014 to 36,000 pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists for a total of more than $32 million. Nearly all developmental pediatricians (90%) received payment, while few radiologists (13%) did.
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“Our finding of ADHD drugs as the most marketed product to pediatricians fits with our finding that developmental pediatricians were most likely to receive a payment compared with other pediatricians,” Dr. Kavita Parikh, a pediatric hospitalist at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C., and colleagues wrote in an article published online (Pediatics. 2016 May 6. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-4440).
Three ADHD drugs accounted for nearly 25% of payments, they found. Other drugs that were commonly promoted to pediatricians included vaccinations and treatments for asthma. Pediatric pulmonologists also were in the top four subspecialists to receive payments.
Dr. Parikh and colleagues recommended further study to evaluate “whether and how industry ties influence patient care because it is reasonable to believe that these payments influence physician prescribing.”
Among primary care specialists, researchers found that 72% of family physicians received payments, followed by 58% of internists and 35% of pediatricians. In comparison, 98% of cardiologists received payments, 83% of gastroenterologists, 78% of allergy/immunologists, and 73% of hematologists/oncologists.
The authors indicated that they had no conflicts of interest.