Report: Colorado Doctors Getting Thousands From Drug Companies
Hundreds Of Doctors Took Money
Posted: 10/22/2010
Last Updated:
945 days ago
Pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors in Colorado more than $4.8 million, according to researchers at ProPublica.The nonprofit group compiled data from seven pharmaceutical companies and found hundreds of doctors in Colorado received money from those companies. Often the payment is listed as compensation for speaking at events.Doctors were also paid for health care professional education programs, advising, consulting, travel, meals and other items. More than 70 other drug companies have yet to disclose similar payments, ProPublica reported.The group found 12 doctors in Colorado took more than $100,000.The website lists the top Colorado earners as:
Ronald Balkissoon (National Jewish, Denver) $220,551
John Hardy (Psychiatrist, Pueblo) $167,079
Joseph Spahn (Allergy & Immunology; Pediatrics, Denver) $155,100
Robert Nathan (Internal Medicine; Allergy & Immunology, Colorado Springs) $137,500
Mori Krantz (Cardiovascular Disease) $112,000
Elward Crawford (Urology) $110,500
Michael T. McDermott (Internal Medicine; Endocrinology and Metabolism) $108,002
Jody Ryan (specialty not listed) $107,723
Joan R. Shapiro (Psychiatry) $106,180
Ruth N. Harada (Internal Medicine; Psychiatry) $104,000
Carol Zapalowski (Internal Medicine; Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism) $102,159
Kenneth Greenberg (specialty not listed) $101,625
Two of the top three doctors, Ronald Balkissoon and Joseph Spahn, list offices at National Jewish.The hospital said the opinions and expertise of its physicians are sought by government, scientific journals, industry associations, other physicians and pharmaceutical companies."Several National Jewish Health physicians receive payments from pharmaceutical companies for speaking to physicians and other healthcare workers about diseases and conditions in which they have expertise," said spokesman William Allstetter in a statement to 7NEWS.The hospital said that its policy requires physicians to report if they receive more than $10,000 from any private company in the past year. That form is forwarded to the department chair and chief compliance officer, who review and decide if there is a potential conflict of interest, officials said.Neither Drs. Spahn or Balkissoon were deemed to have a conflict of interest, officials said.No. 4 on the list, Dr. Robert Nathan's office website said, "with 30 years of clinical research experience in asthma, allergy and related disorders, Dr. Nathan serves as a consultant for numerous pharmaceutical companies."ProPublica's website said Dr. Nathan took $132,200 from GlaxoSmithKline. Among its hundreds of medications, GlaxoSmithKline makes the asthma medications Advair and Flovent.To search your doctor's name or to see the list of doctors in Colorado, visit the ProPublica's website.
ProPublica's website calls itself an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. ProPublica is led by Paul Steiger, the former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. The group started operations in January 2008.Read more about NPR's special report on Dollars For Docs.
