It's about time!
In an effort to quell public anger, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. says it will create a "public database" listing the names of the physicians on Lilly's payroll for speaking engagements and consulting services. The AMA should prohibit doctors from hawking drugs for pay without public disclosure. The conflict of interest that is open and obvious with such practices is lethal with certain medications!
If it lives up to its pledge, Lilly will be a leader in the pharmaceutical industry toward greater transparency. Lilly's program is set to begin in 2009 and to be fully implemented in 2011. The Lilly program is modeled after federal legislation authored by Senate Aging Committee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Lilly decided to advance the transparency policies on its own because policymakers and the public are demanding drug companies be more open. Read: Jeffrey Young, The Hill, 9-24-08, Eli Lilly to disclose financial ties to doctors
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