UK health care professionals and industry move towards payment transparency

In the UK, the Ethical Standards in Health and Life Sciences Group (ESHLSG), a group of 20 organizations (18 full members and two observing members) working together to improve the relationship between health care professionals and the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, has launched a consultation on establishing a public register of payments made to health care professionals by commercial organizations.

Health care professionals and commercial organizations collaborate and interact in a range of activities from developing innovative treatments, sharing good clinical practice and delivering patient care. The group believes that the public disclosure of payments to health professionals represents a significant step towards fostering greater transparency and building greater trust between the medical community, industry and patients across the UK and Europe.

In June 2012, the pharmaceutical industry stated its ambition to work with the health care professional community to introduce a system of public disclosure of payments across Europe by 2016. Companies operating in the UK will begin disclosing the total of payments made to healthcare professionals and the number of individuals receiving payments in spring 2013.