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LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Doctors in Britain were paid38.5 million pounds ($64 million) by drugmakers last year,sightly less than 2012, according to new data underscoring thelinks between the pharmaceutical industry and prescribers.
Industry payments to doctors have come under increasedscrutiny following a number of scandals over sales practices,notably in the United States, and concerns that such ties couldput commercial interests ahead of the best outcome for patients.
The figure, announced by the Association of the BritishPharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on Thursday, was slightly down onthe 2012 level of 40 million pounds.
Criticism of the close relationship between doctors and drugfirms has prompted some companies to rethink how they operate.GlaxoSmithKline said in December it would stop payingdoctors to promote its drugs, though it will still pay fees forclinical research and advisory work.
A number of other firms have also taken more limited stepsto curb physician-related marketing practices, includingAstraZeneca, which said in 2011 it was scrappingpayments for doctors to attend international congresses.
Under U.S. healthcare law, drug companies are now forced todisclose payments to doctors, while in Europe firms will berequired to make public the names of individual doctors theyhave paid from 2016.
In the interim, the ABPI is providing aggregate figuresbased in information from 34 out of the top 40 drug companiesoperating in Britain.
The overall payments to doctors last year comprised 27.7million pounds for consultancy services and 10.8 million insponsorship to attend third party meetings, the trade groupsaid.
($1 = 0.6012 British Pounds) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Sophie Walker)
