Prediction - If the Obama administration is successful in forcing drug companies to disclose what they pay doctors for recommending their drugs, which according to this story is today's NY Times can be hundreds of thousands of dollars, media outlets will benefit because drug companies will be forced to do even more direct to consumer advertising. Print publications seem uniquely qualified to help fill the gap because they can target a specific type of patient more effectively than other mediums.  Now who will be the enterprising print entrepreneurs who will seize the opportunity?

From The New York Times - Full story here

U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors

By ROBERT PEAR

Published: January 16, 2012

WASHINGTON — To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.

Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices.

Consumer advocates and members of Congress say patients may benefit from the new standards, being issued by the government under the new health care law. Officials said the disclosures increased the likelihood that doctors would make decisions in the best interests of patients, without regard to the doctors’ financial interests.

Large numbers of doctors receive payments from drug and device companies every year — sometimes into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars — in exchange for providing advice and giving lectures. Analyses by The New York Times and others have found that about a quarter of doctors take cash payments from drug or device makers and that nearly two-thirds accept routine gifts of food, including lunch for staff members and dinner for themselves.