Drug and devicemakers shelled out more than $8 billion in payments to physicians and teaching hospitals last year, according to CMS' Open Payments data.
CMS publishes the data as part of the Sunshine Act, a transparency provision instituted under the ACA. The act requires drug and device companies to disclose payments to healthcare providers.
Here are four statistics to know.
- Total payments to physicians and teaching hospitals jumped from $7.49 billion in 2014 and $7.52 billion in 2015 to $8.18 billion in 2016.
- The 2016 total includes payments from 1,481 companies to 631,000 physicians and 1,146 teaching hospitals.
- About half of the payments in 2016 funded research efforts. The remaining money represents payment for physician's speeches, meals and travel, or payment for physicians with an ownership or investment interest in a company, among other purposes.
- Allergan spent the most of all drugmakers in 2016 with $66 million in payments. Celgene took home the No. 2 spot with $54 million in payments, according to Fortune.
More articles on supply chain:
Edwards' Lifesciences earns FDA approval for heart valve: 3 things to know
Novo Nordisk recalls insulin pen cartridge holders
Supply chain tip of the day: Avoid the hidden cost of prepackaged supplies