Seeking to provide more transparency into medical industry practices, the Ontario government last week unveiled draft regulations that would require drug makers to disclose payments and gifts to prescribers, an effort that industry critics suggest could become a model for all of Canada.
The proposal is largely similar to a U.S. law, called the Sunshine Act, that has a $10 reporting threshold, but the Ontario draft goes a few steps further. Companies would have to disclose payments not only to physicians, but to other regulated health professionals, such as nurses and pharmacists. And payments to patient advocacy groups and professional medical societies would also have to be reported.
“This takes the Sunshine Act to the next level,” said Dr. Andrew Boozary, a resident at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a member of Open Pharma, a group of physicians and academics pushing for more industry transparency. “I hope the national government sees a need for this information. The rest of the provinces have no mechanism for this kind of reporting. We continue to be a laggard.”
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