Ontario mulls requiring disclosure of pharmaceutical payments made to doctors
TORONTO — Ontario is considering mandating the public disclosure of any payments private drug companies make to doctors, a move that would make it the first province to have such a requirement.
The province has now started consulting with patient groups, health-care providers and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries about the regulations that govern such payments.
Patients in the United States, Australia and some European countries can already go online to see how much money their health-care providers have received from pharmaceutical companies.
Ten major pharmaceutical companies released data last month showing they had paid nearly $50 million to Canadian health-care professionals and organizations last year.