Stanford to publicly disclose researchers who take industry payments

04/02/2009

Stanford has announced a move to disclose the names of its researchers and faculty members who receive drug and device company consulting payments on a public website beginning later this year. The move makes Stanford the second major academic medical center, following the Cleveland Clinic, to make public such disclosures, and comes as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act gathers steam in Congress.

“Access to information about physicians’ interactions with industry is key to fostering strong doctor-patient relationships, as well as increasing public confidence in the medical community,” Dean of the College of Medicine Phillip Pizzo said in a news release.

Stanford says it plans to publish the names of all researchers or other physicians who make more than $5000 from industry consulting or speaking in a year, but not to list exact payment amounts.

For more, read the Wall Street Journal Healthblog.