Pharmaceutical industry payments and assisted reproduction in Australia : a retrospective observational study

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OBJECTIVES: To investigate the extent and nature of pharmaceutical industry payments related to fertility and assisted reproduction in Australia.

DESIGN AND SETTING: This retrospective observational study employed four databases compiled from publicly available pharmaceutical industry transparency reports on educational event sponsorship (October 2011-April 2018), payments to healthcare professionals (October 2015-April 2018) and patient group support (January 2013-December 2017). Analyses were restricted to fertility-related payments by two major manufacturers of fertility medicines in Australia: Merck Serono and Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive statistics on fertility-related payments and other transfers of value (counts, total and median costs in Australian dollars) for educational events and to healthcare professionals and patient groups.

RESULTS: Between October 2011 and April 2018, Merck Serono and MSD spent $A4 522 263 on 970 fertility-related events for healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and fertility scientists. 56.8% (551/970) events were held by fertility clinics and 29.3% (284/970) by professional medical associations. Between October 2015 and April 2018, Merck Serono spent $A403 800 across 177 payments to 118 fertility healthcare professionals, predominantly for educational event attendance. Recipients included obstetricians and gynaecologists (76.3% of payments, 135/177), nurses (11.3%, 20/177) and embryologists/fertility scientists (9.6%, 17/117). The highest paid healthcare professionals held leadership positions in major fertility clinics. Merck Serono provided $A662 850 to fertility-related patient groups for advocacy and education (January 2013-December 2017).

CONCLUSIONS: The pharmaceutical industry sponsored a broad range of fertility clinicians and organisations, including doctors, nurses, embryologists, professional medical organisations, fertility clinics and patient groups. This sponsorship may contribute to the overuse of fertility services.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:11

Enthalten in:

BMJ open - 11(2021), 9 vom: 31. Aug., Seite e049710

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Karanges, Emily Aspasia [VerfasserIn]
Nangla, Conrad [VerfasserIn]
Parker, Lisa [VerfasserIn]
Fabbri, Alice [VerfasserIn]
Farquhar, Cynthia [VerfasserIn]
Bero, Lisa [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Journal Article
Medical education & training
Medical ethics
Observational Study
Reproductive medicine
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 15.09.2021

Date Revised 23.09.2021

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049710

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM330082663