The payments are part of the $3.5 billion that drug and device companies paid out across the country during that period, according to a newly available federal database.
In a few clicks, patients now can see payment-by-payment information on the $32.2 million that went to Pennsylvania doctors and hospitals.
With some slightly more advanced technical skills, patients will be able to whip up a list of which Allentown physicians received the most compensation from medical companies. Federal officials say they'll be adding tools in the future to make the massive, complicated database easier to navigate.
Consumer groups and officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have heralded the new information as an advance in transparency that allows patients to find out about their physicians' relationships with industry companies.
Some local health care providers, however, say those figures provide only part of the picture as to how doctors learn about new technologies and treatments.
Dr. Vincent Lucente, a urogynecologist who specializes in reconstructive pelvic surgeries, is listed as receiving about $105,000 from 13 companies, the most of any Allentown doctor. He's worked on new surgical techniques within his field, and companies pay him to travel several times a month to teach other surgeons about those techniques.
His total payments may seem high, Lucente said in an interview before another such trip to Minneapolis, but it's less than he would earn if he stayed in Pennsylvania to perform additional surgeries instead of giving lectures.
Lucente contrasted the payments in the database against campaign donations to politicians, asking why those are accepted, "but if I eat a roast beef sandwich that's paid for by a drug company, then I can't make good medical decisions? Seriously?"
Federal officials say the database isn't intended to identify which relationships may be beneficial and which are conflicts of interest.
They also acknowledge that the information is incomplete: It's missing tens of thousands of records that have been exempted or are being disputed. Other records were published without naming the doctor or hospital that received the payment.
The available data outlines how local device manufacturers B. Braun, Aesculap and Olympus America spent a combined $2 million from August 2013 to December 2013.
Those dollars were spent in nearly every state, paying for grants, educational services, consulting fees, dinners and other expenses. The database offers few details on what those costs covered beyond broad categories.
Spokesmen for B. Braun and Olympus said the companies support the new federal database and its goal of disclosing industry payments. The companies defended those relationships as necessary for ensuring that physicians know how to use their products.
"Collaboration with health care professionals is necessary for the development of innovative and advanced technologies, as well as to ensure the safe and effective use of our products," B. Braun said in a statement.
On the receiving end, database figures show that a combined $1.1 million went to doctors and facilities based in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
Drug and device companies spent at least $35,000 on food, travel, space rental fees, charitable contributions and other services involving Lehigh Valley Hospital. That total also includes lending the hospital several medical devices for more than 90 days.
Lehigh Valley Health Network's chief compliance officer, Judy Ringholz, said in a statement that the health care system has an internal compliance program requiring doctors to disclose each year any compensation they receive from drug companies and device manufacturers.
Those disclosures are not available to patients, but are used to address and resolve any conflicts, Ringholz said.
Lucente said he's concerned the new database may create more confusion than clarity by not including more details on what doctors are doing in exchange for those payments, and that it could discourage funding for sessions that allow doctors to update their skills.
Avoiding conflicts is something that every doctor must do whenever he learns about new techniques, he said, regardless of whether he reads about it in a book or hears about it in a lecture.
©2014 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
