Let the light in

Canada is taking baby steps toward shining a light on the touchy issue of how much money drug companies pay to doctors and health-care organizations. It should go further, and faster.

This week 10 of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical firms revealed voluntarily how much they doled out in 2017. The total figure is nearly $75 million, but that’s just an aggregate. There’s no way of knowing who got the money or what they were paid to do.

As well, many other drug companies don’t reveal even aggregate numbers. It’s impossible to know where Big Pharma’s money goes, so it’s impossible to figure out whether it affects which drugs doctors prescribe or whether some drugs are over-prescribed.

Fortunately, Ontario has taken action on this front. The Wynne government passed the Health Sector Transparency Act, which will require pharmaceutical companies to disclose all payments to health-care professionals, health organizations and advocacy groups.

But the legislature was dissolved before the regulations needed to put the law into effect were adopted. So it’s now in limbo. The incoming Ford government should pick up the ball and make sure the regulations are passed.

Ontario’s approach is the right one, and British Columbia’s NDP government is considering a similar law. Even better would be a national registry of payments to health-care professionals.

If the payments are made for legitimate reasons, neither the drug companies nor doctors should be concerned about having them made known. Shedding light on possible conflictsof-interest can only be in the public interest.