{"id":1936,"date":"2025-08-27T08:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/?p=1936"},"modified":"2025-08-27T08:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:14:15","slug":"most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/","title":{"rendered":"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Higher volume prescribers more likely to receive payments; and recipients more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs, especially if payments were larger, sustained, and recent
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 year analysis<\/a> of Medicare database payments, published in the open access journal\u00a0BMJ Open.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

And those in receipt of these payments were more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs, especially if the sums involved were larger, sustained, and recent, the findings indicate.<\/p>\n

Because of the lifelong nature of MS, effective therapies are usually continued indefinitely unless a patient\u2019s clinical response changes, explain the researchers. And MS drug prescriptions are Medicare\u2019s largest neurological drug expense despite making up a relatively small portion of total claims, they add.<\/p>\n

While previously published research indicates that industry payments are associated with increased prescribing of marketed products, none of these studies focused on a market as competitive as the MS drugs market, say the researchers.<\/p>\n

They therefore set out to characterise industry payments to neurologists prescribing MS drugs and find out if the receipt of such payments might be associated with the likelihood of the preferential prescribing of that company\u2019s drugs.<\/p>\n

They used publicly available data on payments made by pharma companies to doctors from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Open Payments platform from 2015 to 2019.<\/p>\n

Payments are classified as: research payments; ownership and investment interests; and general payments. The researchers focused on general payments to neurologists, linking these to Medicare Part D data, which covers prescription drugs, using National Provider Identification numbers and drug names.<\/p>\n

Their analysis included 7401 neurologists who had prescribed disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for at least 1 year, issuing a minimum of 11 prescriptions, and 20 DMTs manufactured by 10 companies.<\/p>\n

In all, 5809 (78.5%) neurologists received 626,290 distinct industry payments from at least one drug company, totalling US$163.6 million between 2015 and 2019; 4999 (67.5%) neurologists received payments from two or more companies.<\/p>\n

The average individual amount received was US$779, but 10% of recipients amassed US$155.7 million between them\u201495% of the total sums received\u2013which suggests that drug companies may selectively target high-volume prescribers, say the researchers.<\/p>\n

Higher prescription volumes were associated with a greater likelihood of receiving any payment type, particularly for consulting services, non-consulting services, such as speaking at an event, and travel\/accommodation; the highest number of discrete payments was made for food and drink.<\/p>\n

The amount received was positively associated with prescription volume. Compared with those who received no payments from a company, those who did, were 13% more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs.<\/p>\n

The strongest association between industry payment and prescribing tendencies was observed for non-consulting services. These neurologists were 53% more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs.<\/p>\n

Larger payments were also associated with a greater likelihood of preferential prescribing, rising in tandem with the size of the payment received: US$50 was associated with a 10% greater likelihood of prescribing that company\u2019s drugs; US$500 with a 26% greater likelihood; US$1000 with a 29% greater likelihood; and US$5000 with a 50% greater likelihood.<\/p>\n

Longer duration of payments was another seemingly influential factor, ranging from a 12% greater likelihood of prescribing that company\u2019s drugs for one year of payments to 78% greater likelihood for 5 consecutive years.<\/p>\n

The recency of payments also seemed to be influential. A payment made 4 years earlier was associated with a 3% greater likelihood of prescribing that company\u2019s drugs, but a 34% greater likelihood when made in the same year.<\/p>\n

This is an observational study, and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. And the researchers acknowledge that their study was limited to the prescribing of Part D drugs, and couldn\u2019t establish the appropriateness of prescribing, nor for which patients more expensive brand-name drugs were most suitable.<\/p>\n

A doctor\u2019s decision to prescribe is informed by many different factors, including national guidelines and\/or institutional protocols, insurance cover, and patient preferences. These drivers are difficult to assess using publicly available data, but should be considered when interpreting the findings, emphasise the researchers.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless their \u201cfindings raise concerns about excess pharmaceutical promotion efforts and their implications for physician prescribing for patients,\u201d they suggest.<\/p>\n

\u201cPromotional efforts to influence prescribing are especially concerning given the drugs\u2019 substantial costs, particularly if more expensive brand-name drugs are being prescribed instead of appropriate, effective, generically available alternatives,\u201d they point out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which led to the creation of the Open Payments Database, was an important step forward in making transparent the financial conflicts of interest among physicians receiving industry payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it remains unclear whether increased transparency has mitigated these conflicts of interest and their impact on prescribing behaviour, or simply given the public greater insight into the large scale of industry payments made to prescribers,\u201d they conclude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Higher volume prescribers more likely to receive payments; and recipients more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs, especially if payments were larger, sustained, and recent Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":517,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,15012],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nMost US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash - BMJ Open<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash - BMJ Open\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Higher volume prescribers more likely to receive payments; and recipients more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs, especially if payments were larger, sustained, and recent Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BMJ Open\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-27T08:14:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"lphillips\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"lphillips\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"lphillips\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c30b976e3d788c27710da36e977cb9a\"},\"headline\":\"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T08:14:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":811,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"In the news\",\"Press release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/\",\"name\":\"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash - BMJ Open\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T08:14:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/\",\"name\":\"BMJ Open\",\"description\":\"The official blog BMJ Open; a place to discuss medical research and discover the Editor's monthly top picks.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BMJ Open\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/blog-logo-bmjopen.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/blog-logo-bmjopen.png\",\"width\":183,\"height\":34,\"caption\":\"BMJ Open\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c30b976e3d788c27710da36e977cb9a\",\"name\":\"lphillips\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bc45daa94bc4a63f2ae8edb75dd90cde992bfc01dee7875bc015c8b4dee20f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bc45daa94bc4a63f2ae8edb75dd90cde992bfc01dee7875bc015c8b4dee20f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bc45daa94bc4a63f2ae8edb75dd90cde992bfc01dee7875bc015c8b4dee20f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"lphillips\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmjopen\\\/author\\\/lphillips\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash - BMJ Open","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash - BMJ Open","og_description":"Higher volume prescribers more likely to receive payments; and recipients more likely to prescribe that company\u2019s drugs, especially if payments were larger, sustained, and recent Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/","og_site_name":"BMJ Open","article_published_time":"2025-08-27T08:14:15+00:00","author":"lphillips","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"lphillips","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/"},"author":{"name":"lphillips","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#\/schema\/person\/6c30b976e3d788c27710da36e977cb9a"},"headline":"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash","datePublished":"2025-08-27T08:14:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/"},"wordCount":811,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#organization"},"articleSection":["In the news","Press release"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/","name":"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash - BMJ Open","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-27T08:14:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/2025\/08\/27\/most-us-neurologists-prescribing-ms-drugs-have-received-pharma-industry-cash\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/","name":"BMJ Open","description":"The official blog BMJ Open; a place to discuss medical research and discover the Editor's monthly top picks.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#organization","name":"BMJ Open","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/files\/2017\/10\/blog-logo-bmjopen.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/files\/2017\/10\/blog-logo-bmjopen.png","width":183,"height":34,"caption":"BMJ Open"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/#\/schema\/person\/6c30b976e3d788c27710da36e977cb9a","name":"lphillips","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc45daa94bc4a63f2ae8edb75dd90cde992bfc01dee7875bc015c8b4dee20f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc45daa94bc4a63f2ae8edb75dd90cde992bfc01dee7875bc015c8b4dee20f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc45daa94bc4a63f2ae8edb75dd90cde992bfc01dee7875bc015c8b4dee20f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"lphillips"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/author\/lphillips\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/517"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjopen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}