Tracking pharma influence on nonphysicians 

In the U.S., pharmaceutical company payments to physicians have to be publicly reported, but not those made to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other nonphysician clinicians. But in Australia, all those contributions are disclosed. And in a new study, researchers found that nonphysicians made up more than 1 in 5 recipients of pharmaceutical industry contributions and received 10% of spending from companies like Biogen and Gilead. The authors write that nonphysicians might be viewed as influential thought leaders within the health care system, but that their interactions with drug companies have not attracted the same level of scrutiny as those of physicians. A silver lining for transparency advocates: A U.S. law mandating reporting of industry payments to nonphysician clinicians goes into effect in 2022.