By Louis Porter and Daniel Barlow
Vermont Press Bureau

Doctor-industry transparency

Lawmakers and advocates will push this year for greater transparency between doctors and health professionals in Vermont and the medical industry, including the companies that make the medications doctors prescribe.

The Vermont Attorney General's office issues a report annually that details how much money the medical industry gave in gifts and donations to doctors -- but that list contains loopholes that allow for under-reporting and are difficult to use.

Lawmakers say they want to strip the "trade secrets" provision from the state law and set up an online database for health care consumers to determine if their doctors have relationships that are troubling or if their hands are clean.

Expect the pharmaceutical industry to fight this change hard.

To read the complete article from Rutland Herald Online click here.