Poles’ expectations about the transparency of physicians’ and patient organizations’ relationships with the industry: the quest for shedding light on pharmaceutical payments

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore Poles’ views regarding pharmaceutical industry transparency, prompted by the Sunshine regulations in the USA and certain European countries.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey of a quota sample of 1,057 respondents was conducted. The sample reflected the structure of the Polish population in terms of sex, age, size of place of residence, province and education.

Findings

Poles prioritize legal requirements for the disclosure of gifts, work payments and conference support to doctors over meals. Almost half of Poles (46.7%) would check doctors’ relationships with the pharmaceutical industry if they could, while 38.9% stated they would not seek care from doctors with a relationship. Older individuals, males, those with children and those unvaccinated against COVID-19 are more likely to support increased transparency in industry–doctor relationships. Poles prioritize transparency with patient organizations over doctors. More than half of them believe these organizations should receive support from the state (54.6%) than from the industry (43.4%). A majority of Poles (65.9%) desire to know a patient organization’s income sources before requesting their assistance, and as much as 69.3% of respondents want the law to require disclosures. Older individuals and recent health-care users are more likely to support transparency in pharmaceutical industry–patient organization relationships. Given significant social support for Sunshine regulations, legislators should consider its implementation, as in Poland, only self-regulations of the pharmaceutical industry exist.

Originality/value

In Poland, the discussion about implementing a transparency policy in these relationships has not even started. Furthermore, this study shows that there is significant public interest in such disclosure.

Citation

Makowska, M. and Sillup, G.P. (2024), "Poles’ expectations about the transparency of physicians’ and patient organizations’ relationships with the industry: the quest for shedding light on pharmaceutical payments", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-04-2024-0037