Since the 1st January 2015 drug companies in the United Kingdom have begun recording any payments they make to doctors for a range of services such as lectures or chairing meetings. The first 12 months of data will be made public in July 2016. This follows a new disclosure code agreed by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations that has been adopted by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). This is a major step forward as there is no current comprehensive system in the UK to monitor inducements and payments. The GMC for instance does not oblige doctors to disclose.

Unfortunately ABPI doesn’t have the power to make doctors disclose all conflicts of interest for instance shares in companies. Doctors will also be able to opt out of getting their details made public though presumably there will be a way of identifying those who refuse public disclosure.

The topic is covered by an article in the BMJ 2015;350:g7748

http://bmj.co/1HsVf6Y