Study: Dearth of funding transparency among patient advocacy groups

Patient organizations are an increasingly powerful voice in helping shape health policy. However, a new analysis found that there’s often minimal transparency among these groups — and many have a great deal of industry backing.

A systematic review published in BMJ showed that although up to 83% of patient advocacy groups received industry funding, only about a quarter disclosed that fact on their websites.

Meanwhile, pharma — which is on the defensive about pricing — is relying more and more on patient groups to help with messaging directed at lawmakers, regulators, and the general public, STAT’s Ed Silverman writes.