US drug manufacturers will have to disclose payments to doctors

New rules forcing drug and device manufacturers to disclose all payments to doctors look set to become law in the United States, after the historic healthcare reform bill was passed by the House of Representatives this weekend (BMJ 2010;340:c1635, 22 Mar, doi:10.1136/bmj.c1635).

The “Sunshine Act” was first proposed as standalone legislation three years ago, but its provisions were incorporated into the wider reform bill now close to being signed into law. Under the new law all manufacturers of drugs, devices, and biologicals will have to provide details to the government of …