PsychCentral –

By John M Grohol PsyD

Who were the top 50 psychiatrists in the U.S. paid by the top seven pharmaceutical companies? This past week, ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, recently decided to answer that question by compiling a list of 384 physicians and health care providers who earned more than $100,000 total from one or more of the seven companies that have disclosed payments in 2009 and early 2010. Click here for the full list of 384 physicians.

We combed that list and found the top 50 psychiatry earners for the past two years (2009-2010). You can click on any name below to learn more about the physician.

According to an accompanying article to this data, ProPublic notes that “[p]ayments to doctors for promotional work are not illegal and can be beneficial. Strong relationships between pharmaceutical companies and physicians are critical to developing new and better treatments.” Perhaps, but for far too long, companies have used physicians as empty-headed mouthpieces for their marketing propaganda.

Transparency helps ensure these relationships are now out in the open, so that other docs and health care professionals know exactly what they’re getting when a doctor speaks to them about a particular drug’s benefits.

ProPublic also found some concerns in their overall analysis of this data, namely that some doctors on the list faced disciplinary action, and others had resumes that wouldn’t support their use as an “expert” in the field, discussing a company’s research in context of the entire research base.

Read the rest of the article here: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/10/23/top-50-psychiatrists-paid-by-pharmaceutical-companies/

Read ProPublica’s article: Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials