Pharmaceutical industry payments to leaders of professional medical associations in Australia Focus on cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Abstract

Background and objective Pharmaceutical industry interactions with professional medical associations have come under scrutiny, yet industry ties among the leadership of these associations are often overlooked. The aim of this study was to investigate pharmaceutical industry payments to leaders of Australian diabetes or cardiovascular associations, and general associations serving doctors who manage these conditions. Methods Payments were identified using publicly available industry transparency reports (October 2015 to April 2018). Results Overall, 48/197 (24.4%) leaders received payments, predominantly for speaker (51.4%) and advisory board (25.3%) engagements. The proportion of paid leader..