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The U.S. government is instituting new rules to force drug companies to reveal how much they pay doctors. The companies say the payments are for research, consulting, speaking, travel, and entertainment; consumer groups say the payments are to encourage doctors to prescribe more costly drugs to patients. The new rules don’t try to determine whether payments, which can reach into the millions, are “proper” or “improper,” but rather just require that the raw data be published on a government web site so that anyone can analyze it. “The goal is to let the sun shine in and make information available to foster accountability,” says Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. A spokesman for the industry organization Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says they are concerned that the data be presented in “proper context,” but agrees the industry “support[s] transparency of physician payment information.” (RC/New York Times) ...Hey, if they support “transparency” then how about a rule requiring they disclose payments to politicians?