Teaching hospitals are paid richly by biopharma

Teaching hospitals may be particularly susceptible to biopharmaceutical dollars — and influence, a new Health Affairs study shows. In 2018 alone, 91% of teaching hospitals across the country received $832 million in payments — spent on continuing education, royalties, consulting and speaking fees, space rentals, gifts and food.

Conflict of interest issues are particularly fraught because these hospitals play several roles: They treat patients, train new physicians, and conduct research. The Sunshine Act has helped elucidate the financial relationships between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. However, this is the first time the ties between industry and teaching hospitals have been closely examined, STAT’s Ed Silverman writes.