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A higher percentage of doctors affiliated with hospitals in the South have received such payments than doctors in other regions of the country, the analysis found. And a greater share of doctors at for-profit hospitals have taken them than at nonprofit and government facilities. (Ornstein and Jones, 6/29)

Years after many big academic medical centers cracked down on industry perks, drug companies still regularly buy meals for doctors affiliated with smaller hospitals, a new analysis shows, with some physicians receiving dozens of lunches and dinners in a single year. (Kowalcyzk, 6/29)

A small for-profit hospital on the outskirts of Memphis has the highest rate of doctors who took payments from the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, out of more than 2,000 hospitals across the nation. Federal disclosures show 59 out of 62 doctors at St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett — or 95 percent — received payments for speaking engagements, meals, gifts, travel, consulting or other interactions with the industry in 2014, the most recent year of information available. (Reicher, Fletcher and McKenzie, 6/29)

The conflict of interest policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a “living document” the medical center continually updates as it tries to limit outsize influence from pharmaceutical and device manufacturers without stymieing research, said Dr. David Raiford, chief of clinical staff and senior associate dean for faculty affairs.In 2014, the health system had the lowest share of doctors receiving payments — 38 percent of its 960 doctors — from third-party companies in the state. The average hospital in Tennessee saw 71 percent of physicians accepting a payment, such as meals, gifts, travel and consulting fees from the industry, according to Medicare data analyzed by nonprofit news organization ProPublica. (Fletcher, 6/29)

Pharma companies regularly use food, small gifts and financial opportunities to build relationships with doctors and in turn, they hope, boost sales of their drugs. But showering patients with those gifts and opportunities? It may sound unusual, but it happens in the hemophilia world--and not everyone is okay with it. Younger patients with the clotting disorder receive grants, gifts, meals, services, consulting opportunities and plenty of special attention from pharma sales reps, according to a new paper published in PLOS Medicine--and plusses such as educational scholarships, awards, counseling and branded toys aren’t uncommon either. (Helfand, 6/26)