Payments to Health Care Professionals
Lilly collaborates with health care professionals (HCPs) and health care organizations (HCOs) focusing on a single goal: to improve the health and quality of patients’ lives. Being transparent about the nature and extent of our relationships makes it possible to build trust and respect for how we work together to benefit patients.
In the United States, Lilly follows disclosure requirements at the local, state and federal levels. Outside the United States, in addition to adhering to local and national legislated requirements for countries in which we operate, Lilly participates in voluntary disclosure codes led by local trade associations. One such example is the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), which has established the EFPIA HCP/HCO Disclosure Code as well as the EFPIA Patient Organization Code. Lilly views our commitment to transparency and disclosure as an opportunity to ensure that patients, HCPs, HCOs and business partners feel confident when engaging with Lilly.
Lilly is a research-based biopharmaceutical company, so it is not surprising that we spend the most with physicians and institutions conducting research. Without these collaborations, new medicines could never reach the patients who are living with diseases and awaiting treatment options.
We believe HCPs should be compensated at a fair rate for their time and expertise whether they are scientists helping to research a potential new treatment, HCPs contracting to advise us on medical and scientific matters or physicians conducting an educational program for Lilly with their peers. We maintain a comprehensive process for determining rates including regular reviews to ensure we remain compliant with internal and external requirements. Disclosing financial relationships with HCPs and HCOs lets patients, caregivers and other key stakeholders see and better understand the collaborations and interactions their own medical professionals have with Lilly.
U.S. Federal Reporting
Lilly adheres to the requirements set forth by the federal law known as the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (also called “Open Payments”), which is part of the broader US Affordable Care Act. It requires the biopharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing industry to report certain financial interactions to a defined group of Health Care Professionals and Teaching Hospitals. Interactions include items such as payments for services provided for research, or food and beverage provided during an educational program. Lilly reports these financial interactions to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). On an annual basis, CMS makes all reported industry financial interactions public in a searchable Open Payments Database. On the site, you can view if a Health Care Provider or a particular Teaching Hospital has had financial interactions with industry.
U.S. State Reporting
In addition to federal Open Payments requirements, some cities, numerous states and the District of Columbia have established broader definitions and policies for monitoring and reporting our interactions with HCPs and HCOs. Each disclosure has a unique set of requirements. For instance, in some states we can provide a physician a meal as long as it doesn’t exceed a certain value and is provided in the proper context. In other states, industry is prohibited from providing meals to physicians.
European Regional Reporting
In Europe, some countries have laws requiring industry to report financial interactions with HCPs and HCOs. In other countries, transparency reporting is voluntary. Across the region, as a member of the EFPIA, we adhere to the HCP/HCO Disclosure Code and Patient Organization Code. We’ve joined these initiatives to further our commitment to transparently report our financial interactions because we believe the work we do with HCPs and HCOs ultimately benefits patients. Some examples of what we publicly disclose per EFPIA include; research and development, service fees, travel and accommodation, sponsorships, and grants and donations. These data are reported publicly on an annual basis.
Please consult EFPIA's website for additional information on the HCP/HCO and Patient Organization Codes. You can also view more on Lilly’s commitment to transparency in Europe here, or view our EFPIA Patient Organization Disclosure.
Reporting in the Rest of the World
Disclosures are now prevalent in approximately 50 countries in virtually every region of the world. Lilly believes financial relationships should be disclosed publicly at levels that are meaningful and improve the understanding of the interactions between industry and HCPs and HCO as such information can serve to build trust with patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders. Lilly adheres to the transparency disclosure requirements as set forth in the applicable National and Regional code or law.” Read more about Lilly’s position on HCP and HCO Transfer of Value (ToV) disclosures: