Payments to healthcare organisations reported by the medical device industry in Europe from 2017 to 2019: an observational study

Objective Medical device industry payments to healthcare organisations (HCOs) can create conflicts of interest which can undermine patient care. One way of addressing this concern is by enhancing transparency of industry financial support to HCOs. MedTech Europe, a medical device trade body, operate a system of disclosure of education payments to European HCOs. This study aimed to characterise payments reported in this database and to evaluate the disclosure system. Methods An observational study of education-related payments to HCOs reported by the medical device industry in Europe was conducted. Data was manually extracted from transparentmedtech.eu. The primary outcome variable is the value of the payments, overall, and for each year, payment type, and country. The accessibility, availability and quality of the database was also analysed, using a proforma with 15 measures. Results Overall, 116 medical device companies reported education-related payments in 53 European and non-European countries, valuing over €425 million between 2017-2019, increasing in value between 2017-2019, from €93,798,419 to €175,414,302. Ten countries accounted for 94% of all payments and ten companies accounted for 80% of all payments. The accessibility, availability and quality of the database rated low for six measures, medium for six measures, and high for three measures. Conclusion There is a large amount of education-related payments from medical device companies to European HCOs, creating substantial potential for conflicts of interest. MedTech Europe's disclosure system has many shortcomings. A European-wide publicly mandated disclosure system for both the medical device and pharmaceutical industries should be introduced. Public Interest Summary The medical device industry pay healthcare organisations (e.g. hospitals) large amounts of money. Industry states that this money is to help pay for healthcare professionals’ education. However, these payments can have a negative impact on healthcare professionals’ decision-making. This study sought to examine a website run by MedTech Europe, a representative body for the medical device industry, which outlines details of some of these payments (www.transparentmedtech.eu). Our analysis found that between 2017-2019 the medical device industry made ‘education’ payments valuing €425 million to healthcare organisations in Europe. We also assessed how comprehensive and user-friendly the database was and found a range of issues. For example, the database is not downloadable and some other important types of payments, such as payments for consultancy, are not included. We concluded that a mandatory database for both the medical device and pharmaceutical industry run by the European Union, would significantly improve transparency.