Hundreds of Dutch doctors, pharmacists, dentists and midwives do work on the side for pharmaceutical companies, earning an average €2,629 last year, the NRC reports on Tuesday.

The figures come from a special transparency register set up by the industry and healthcare providers two years ago following pressure from parliament.

The code governing the register requires all work with a fee of at least €500 be included. Patients can search for their own practitioner by name to find out what, if any, work they have done for the industry.

Most of the money is paid to healthcare professionals for giving a talk or lecture and in the form of ‘financial support for projects’, the register states.

Trials

In total, pharmaceutical companies paid €38m to individual healthcare providers last year, a rise of 15% on 2013.

However, the NRC points out the register does not give a complete picture because the bulk of pharmaceuticals industry spending goes to medical researchers and clinical trials which are not covered.

In total, the industry made 7,800 payments to 1,750 individual healthcare providers. Just over half did more than one job but only a handful topped the 10 payment mark. The biggest earner carried out 32 projects, the NRC says.