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GSK reveals physician payments

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline paid out $15 million to physician consultants and speakers in the second quarter of 2009, the firm revealed in a report posted at its Web site in December. Nearly 4,000 physicians and other health professionals received payments, with the average compensation totaling $3,909. The highest-paid physician received nearly $100,000, the report said.

Earlier this year, Eli Lilly and Co. disclosed $22 million in first-quarter payments to physicians. Merck & Co. said it paid $3 million in speaker and consultancy fees in the second quarter. Critics of drug industry ties argue that payments to doctors who serve as "key opinion leaders" can wrongly influence guideline-writing committees and practicing physicians' prescribing decisions.

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California county will repay loans for pediatric subspecialists

The Children & Families Commission of Orange County, Calif., plans to launch, beginning January 2010, a physician loan repayment program for pediatric subspecialists in areas including neurology, endocrinology and orthopedics.

Subspecialists who are approved by the commission and agree to practice in the county for three years, will receive $125,000 to repay medical education loans. The program, believed to be the first in the state that is exclusive to a county, will be funded through 2012 via cigarette taxes.

Like many regions throughout the nation, Orange County is facing a severe shortage of such specialists.

"Although general pediatricians are doing a little bit better, for the subspecialties we have concerns," said Beth A. Pletcher, MD, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric Workforce. She attributes the shortage to the lengthier training period for subspecialists in general and the lower pay in pediatrics, especially for surgeons, compared with that for specialists who treat adult patients.

The commission expects to recruit at least six new specialists in the next three years.

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Teens using less meth, but more pot

Methamphetamine use and cigarette smoking among teenagers has decreased in recent years, while marijuana use is on the rise again after a downward trend, according to an annual survey the National Institute on Drug Abuse released Dec. 14.

University of Michigan researchers surveyed 46,097 8th, 10th and 12th graders from 389 schools across the nation during the 2008-09 academic year. The resulting "Monitoring the Future" report is available online (www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data.html).

The survey also indicated a continuing high rate of nonmedical use of prescription drugs and cough syrup among teens.

This content was published online only.

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