Thank you to those responding to my question on the payment of finder's
fees to medical personnel steering patients toward participation in
research studies. The responses were overwhelmingly negative. Four of
six responding sites prohibit the practice. I was also informed that
in California this is considered a payment for referral and is illegal in
that state. This may be worthwhile checking in individual states if
fees are to be included. One of the remaining two sites permits their IRB and
Board to consider studies that include finder's fees on an individual
basis, but to date has approved none. The other site has no written policy
on finder's fees, but requires financial disclosure for all studies greater
than $5,000. Decisions would be made individually by the COI Management
Committee. Finder's fees seem to be generally discouraged.

Thank you again to all who took time to respond. If others want to get on
the bandwagon or offer opposing viewpoints, I would be happy to compile
them into a revised report for posting at a later date.

Bruce W. Steinert, Ph.D.
Department of Urology
William Beaumont Hospital
3601 West Thirteen Mile Road        (810) 551-2572 (Voice)
Royal Oak, MI  48073-6769           (810) 551-8107 (FAX)