This document analyzes data from the CMS Open Payments database regarding general payments from pharmaceutical companies to physicians in 2015. It finds that the vast majority (89%) of transfers were for meals, but these represented only 14% of the total value transferred. Consulting fees, honoraria, and compensation for services other than consulting represented over 50% of the total value. Most royalty or license payments (97%) were provided by manufacturers in the "Both" industry category.

1. CMS OPEN PAYMENTS
This analysis focuses on pharmaceutical transactions with physicians. We focused on General Payments to facilitate a better
apples-to-apples comparison. We wanted to spark thoughts and drive discussion on some of the intricacies of the data. This is just the
starting point of evaluating ways that can help you spend your dollars more wisely and in greater compliance with industry practices.
Highlights of General Payments to Physicians from the Pharmaceutical Industry
2015
OBSERVATIONS:
• Vast majority of transfers are for meals (89%) represent
only 14% of the total value transferred
• CFSOTC, Consultant Fees, and Honoraria represent over
50% of the total value transferred
• Education is the third highest by volume
• 97% of Royalties or Licenses provided by Manufacturers where
Industry = “Both” (n= 4,329)
METHODOLOGY:
• Other (Both Charts) includes: Charitable Contribution, Non-CME
Faculty, CME Faculty, Ownership Interest, Entertainment, Gift,
Grant, Space Rental or Facility Fees
• Other (Volume) additionally includes: Honoraria, Royalty
• Other (Dollar) additionally includes: Education
50%
Research
$3.2B
11%
Ownership
$703M
39%
General
$2.6B
21%
Teaching
Hospitals
$543M
79%
Physicians
$2B
Research Report does not
include “delayed”
payments
Ownership Report does not
include publicly traded
companies
1 AM accounted for
$255M in Royalties
34%
Both
114 Companies
$683M
30%
Pharma
184 Companies
$606M
34%
Device
543 Companies
$693M
Starting with
TOTAL SPEND BY REPORT
The 79% spend on Physicians comes from:
GENERAL PHYSICIAN PAYMENTS
Spend by Industry
Of the 39% General Expenses:
GENERAL REPORT
Spend by Recipient Type
NOTE:
• 298/1018 AMs with reported General Payments are in the scope of this analysis
• See Methodology and Definitions section for our definitions of industry
2%
Neither
177 Companies
$33.4M
CMS OPEN PAYMENTS
This analysis focuses on the pharmaceutical industry's interaction with physicians. We focused on General Payments to facilitate a better
apples-to-apples comparison. We wanted to spark thoughts and drive discussion on some of the intricacies of the data. This is just the starting
point of evaluating ways that can help you spend your dollars more wisely and in greater compliance with industry practices.
Overview of General Payments to Physicians from the Pharmaceutical Industry
2014
Data
OBSERVATIONS:
General payments to physicians from companies with at least one pharmaceutical or biologic product represent 20% of the overall Open Payments universe:
• Includes $1.3B in value across 9.9M transactions • The average payment amount is $130
WHAT TYPES OF PAYMENTS?
4% Travel & Lodging
3% Education
2% CFSOTC
1% Consulting Fees
1% Other
89%
Food &
Beverage
NATURES
BY VOLUME
NATURES
BY DOLLAR
29%
CFSOTC
17%
Consulting
Fees
21%
Royalty
14%
Food & Beverage
9%
Travel & Lodging
5%
Other
4%
Honoraria
HOW DO YOU COMPARE?
AVERAGE MEAL SPEND BY COMPANY†
Overall
Average =
$2,387
$16K
$14K
$12K
$10K
$8K
$6K
$4K
$2K
†† 2 outlier companies are not included in the scatter plot
Overall
Average =
$20
$200.00
$160.00
$180.00
$140.00
$120.00
$100.00
$80.00
$60.00
$40.00
$20.00
† 6 outlier companies are not included in the scatter plot
AVERAGE CONSULTING FEES BY COMPANY††
* 6 outlier companies are not included in the scatter plot
$2500
$2000
$1500
$1000
$500
Overall
Average =
$60
‡ 7 outlier companies are not included in the scatter plot
$14K
$12K
$10K
$8K
$6K
$4K
$2K
Overall
Average =
$1,922
AVERAGE EDUCATIONAL ITEM VALUE
BY COMPANY* AVERAGE CFSOTC BY COMPANY‡
EACH DOT REPRESENTS AN APPLICABLE
MANUFACTURER FROM “PHARMA” OR “BOTH”

2. JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
$20M
$60M
$40M
$80M
$100M
$140M
$120M
NATURES AMOUNT BY MONTH STATE SPEND PER CAPITA
OBSERVATIONS:
• Royalties had largest variation
• Minimal variation for CFSOTC, Consulting Fees, Food & Beverage, and All Other Natures
METHODOLOGY:
• Divided total dollar amounts by state population
– State based upon "Recipient State"
– Population figures from US Census
CFSOTC Consulting Fees Food & Beverage Royalty All Other Natures $0–0.99 $1.00–$1.99 $2.00–$2.99 $3.00–$3.99 $4.00–$11.99 $12.00+
TOP 10 DRUGS BY $ AMOUNT
OBSERVATIONS:
• Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurological Surgery are outliers in terms of average payment
• Internal Medicine and Family Medicine have highest volume with lower amounts
OBSERVATIONS:
• 7/10 of the Top Drugs from 2013 remained in the Top 10 for 2014 (New: Bydureon, Botox, Brintellix)
• 8/10 are co-marketed drugs
• Several Specialties have multiple products:
– Eliquis, Xarelto, and Brilinta are all Cardiovascular products
– Abilify and Latuda are both Psychiatry & Neurology products
– Bydureon and Invokana are both Endocrinology products
TOP 10 SPECIALTIES BY $ AMOUNT
TOTALS:
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Specialty
Orthopaedic Surgery
Psychiatry & Neurology
Internal Medicine
Endocrinology,
Diabetes & Metabolism
Cardiovascular Disease
Neurological Surgery
Hematology & Oncology
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Specialist
Family Medicine
# Products
555
635
924
448
546
356
503
575
729
826
Top Drug*
Equinoxe
Abilify
Bydureon
Bydureon
Eliquis
Acthar
Velcade
Osphena
Humira
Brintellix
Count
165K
1.09M
1.77M
283K
514K
57K
242K
256K
247K
6.9M
2.30M
$826M
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Manufacturer(s)*
AstraZeneca, BMS
J&J,Animas, LifeScan
BMS, Pfizer
J&J, Bayer, DePuy, Cordis
Allergan
Takeda, Lundbeck
AstraZeneca, Medicines
Otsuka, Lundbeck, BMS
Sunovion,
Sumitomo Dainippon
AbbVie
Count
267K
181K
206K
239K
63K
164K
109K
334K
96K
110K
1.77M
Average
$92
$101
$85
$71
$257
$94
$141
$43
$139
$117
$93
METHODOLOGY:
• The first 3 pie graphs filter down payments to focus on General Payments to Physicians
from “Pharma” and “Both”, as shown below
• Used "Submitting Applicable Manufacturer" for companies; consolidated common
corporate entities
• Combined products and specialties with similar names, such as ("Abilify"/"Abilify
Depot") and ("Dentist"/"Dental Public Health")
• Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding
METHODOLOGY & DEFINITIONS
DEFINITIONS:
NATURES:
• “CFSOTC” = Nature 2; Compensation for services other than consulting, including serving as a
faculty or as a speaker at a venue other than a continuing education program
• "Royalty" = Nature 10; Royalty or License
• “Ownership” = Nature 11; Current or prospective ownership or investment interest
• “Non-CME Faculty” = Nature 12; Compensation for serving as faculty or as a speaker for a
non-accredited and noncertified continuing education program
• “CME Faculty” = Nature 13; Compensation for serving as faculty or as a speaker for an
accredited or certified continuing education program
• "AM" = Applicable manufacturer
METHODOLOGY:
• Specialties are grouped by name and the Drug listed has the highest dollar amount associated
with the specialty (transactions with blank product names were omitted for “Top Drug”)
• Drugs are grouped by name and the Specialty listed has the highest dollar amount
associated with the drug
DC
*Based on "Name of Associated Covered Drug or Biologic 1” * When multiple manufacturers, they are listed
in order by Dollar Amount
Top Specialty
Endocrinology,
Diabetes & Metabolism
Endocrinology,
Diabetes & Metabolism
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular Disease
Plastic Surgery
Family Medicine
Cardiovascular Disease
Psychiatry & Neurology
Psychiatry & Neurology
Dermatology
TOTALS:
Amount
$24.6M
$18.3M
$17.5M
$16.9M
$16.1M
$15.4M
$15.3M
$14.4M
$13.4M
$12.8M
$164.7M
Drug
Bydureon
Invokana
Eliquis
Xarelto
Botox
Brintellix
Brilinta
Abilify
Latuda
Humira
Total $
$216.2M
$123.8M
$87.5M
$68.7M
$62.7M
$55.6M
$47.0M
$43.9M
$42.5M
$78.1M
% of Total
16.8%
9.6%
6.8%
5.3%
4.9%
4.3%
3.6%
3.4%
3.3%
64.1%
6.1%
Avg. Payment
$1,311
$114
$49
$243
$122
$977
$195
$171
$172
$34
NAME OF DEVICE
POPULATED?
Yes
No Yes
No
NAME OF DRUG
POPULATED?
Device
Neither Pharma
BothINDUSTRY:
2014
Data
Published by Potomac River Partners, July 2015