Where the Sun Shines: Industry’s Payments to Transplant Surgeons

Ahmed, Rizwan; Chow, Eugene M.; Massie, Allan B.; Anjum, Saad; King, Elizabeth A.; Orandi, Babak J.; Bae, Sunjae; Nicholas, Lauren Hersch; Lonze, Bonnie E.; Segev, Dorry L.

doi:10.1111/ajt.13427

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…Although the median payment was $180, it was higher than the $100 cut-off defined by Green et al 5 , and higher than median payment of $125 for transplant surgeons and $115 for plastics surgeons in the OPP database 16, 17 . Furthermore, we demonstrate that industry-sponsored travel either as direct payment or reimbursement are common among cardiothoracic surgeons; although just over one quarter (28%) of providers were reimbursed for travel and lodging, this category received the highest amount of total industry payments ($1,037,370).…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…In addition, there may be inaccuracies in reporting metrics given that the PPSA is in its infancy. The accuracy and applicability of the data remains to be determined, and carries with it already acknowledged limitations such as a lack of reporting of drug sample and CME-certified program payments 17 . However, these limitations should be at least partially addressed as the PPSA evolves over time, and as studies similar to ours report on preliminary OPP database findings 16, 19 .…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Here Comes the Sunshine: Industry’s Payments to Cardiothoracic Surgeons

Ahmed

Bae²,

Hicks³

et al. 2017

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

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Background The Physician Payment Sunshine Act (PPSA) was implemented to provide transparency to financial transactions between industry and physicians. Under this law, the Open Payments Program (OPP) was created to publicly disclose all transactions and inform patients of potential conflicts-of-interest (COI). Collaboration between industry and cardiothoracic surgeon-scientists is essential in developing new approaches to treating patients with cardiac disease. The objective of this study is to characterize industry payments to cardiothoracic surgeons as reported by OPP. Methods We used the first wave of PPSA data (August 2013-December 2013) to assess industry payments made to cardiothoracic surgeons. Results Cardiothoracic surgeons (N=2,495) received a total of $4,417,545 during a five-month period. Cardiothoracic surgeons comprised of 0.5% of all individuals in the OPP and received 0.9% of total disclosed industry funding. Among cardiothoracic surgeons receiving funding, 34% received payments <$100, 43% received payments of $100-$999, 19% received payments of $1,000-$9,999, 4% received payments of $10,000-$99,999 and 0.2% received payments >$100,000. The median (IQR) was $181 (60-843) and the mean (±SD) was $1,771 (±7,664). The largest payment to an individual was $159,444. The three largest median (IQR) payments made to cardiothoracic surgeons by expense category were royalty fees $8,398 (536-12,316), speaker fees $3,600 (1,500-8,000), and Honoraria $3,344 (1,563-7,350). Conclusions Among cardiothoracic surgeons who are listed as recipients of non-research industry payments, 50% of cardiothoracic surgeons received <$181. Awareness of the OPP data is critical for cardiothoracic surgeons, as it provides a means to prevent potential public misconceptions about industry payments within the specialty that may affect patient trust.

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Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Here Comes the Sunshine: Industry’s Payments to Cardiothoracic Surgeons

Ahmed

Bae²,

Hicks³

et al. 2017

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

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“…Previous analyses of incomplete data from 2013 have been performed for several specialties, but to our knowledge the current study is the first analysis of urologists in the peer reviewed literature. 6–10,12 Our evaluation of data from 2014 demonstrates that the field of urology has a significant financial relationship with industry for research and non-research payments, ranking in the top 10 among all specialties for the total value of nonresearch payments received.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Industry Payments to Urologists in 2014: an Analysis of the Open Payments Program

et al. 2017

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Introduction Physician-industry relationships are common in the U.S. and a source of considerable public scrutiny. The Open Payments program is a public database of all physician-industry financial interactions in the U.S. administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In this study we describe payments received by urologists for research and nonresearch purposes. Methods The number and value of payments to urologists were determined using Open Payments program data. The nature of each payment and identity of industry partners were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were calculated separately for research and nonresearch payment data. The total number of practicing physicians per specialty was obtained from the Association of American Medical Colleges Physician Specialty Data Book for 2014. Results In 2014, 8,620 urologists had nonresearch financial relationships with industry for a total value of $32.4 million, with 2,698 urologists receiving more than $1,000 in total nonresearch payments. Urologists as a whole had the 8th highest total value received of all specialties. A total of $22.4 million was spent by industry for urology directed research funding, representing a small proportion of the more than $3 billion spent by industry on medical research in 2014. The majority (93.1%) of urology directed research funding was provided to nonteaching institutions. Conclusions The Open Payments program database is an important public database of financial transactions between industry and physicians. A large proportion of urologists received nonresearch related transfers of value from industry sources. Industry supported research funding is primarily awarded to nonteaching institutions.

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“…It is well accepted that collaboration between industry and surgeons is essential for the evolution of new products that will improve patient care (8, 9). Recently, several surgical specialties have published their results from the OPP database (10–12). However, the scope and nature of these collaborations have never been explored within the field of plastic surgery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The purpose of this study was to utilize the newly-released OPP database and comprehensively evaluate all non-research-related financial transactions between plastic surgeons and biomedical companies We hypothesized that plastic surgeons, due to the technical and innovative aspects of the field, would have more extensive relationships with industry when compared to other healthcare providers, and that industry payment amounts would differ by subspecialty, practice settings, and scientific productivity. The specific aims of the study were the following: 1) to identify a cohort of plastic surgeons who received non-research payments by industry 2) compare payments to plastic surgeons to other healthcare providers, 3) compare payments of plastic surgeons by subspecialty, geographic distribution, practice setting (private versus academic), and payment category, and 4) examine the association between payments received and a plastic surgeon’s H-index, a measure of scientific productivity (10). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dawn of Transparency

Ahmed

Lopez

Bae

et al. 2017

Annals of Plastic Surgery

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Background The Physician Payments Sunshine Act (PSSA) is a government initiative that requires all biomedical companies to publicly disclose payments to physicians through the Open Payments Program (OPP). The goal of this study was to utilize the OPP database and evaluate all non-research related financial transactions between plastic surgeons and biomedical companies. Methods Using the first wave of OPP data published on September 30, 2014, we studied the national distribution of industry payments made to plastic surgeons during a five month period. We explored whether a plastic surgeon’s scientific productivity, (as determined by their h-index), practice setting (private versus academic), geographic location, and subspecialty were associated with payment amount. Results Plastic surgeons (N=4,195) received a total of $5,278,613. The median (IQR) payment to a plastic surgeon was $115($35–298); mean $1,258. The largest payment to an individual was $341,384. The largest payment category was non-CEP speaker fees ($1,709,930) followed by consulting fees ($1,403,770). Plastic surgeons in private practice received higher payments per surgeon compared to surgeons in academic practice (median [IQR] $165[$81 – $441] vs. median [IQR] $112 [$33–$291], rank-sum p<0.001). Among academic plastic surgeons, a higher h-index was associated with 77% greater chance of receiving at least $1000 in total payments (RR/10 unit h-index increase=1.47 1.77 2.11, p<0.001). This association was not seen among plastic surgeons in private practice (RR=0.89 1.09 1.32, p<0.4). Conclusion Plastic surgeons in private practice receive higher payments from industry. Among academic plastic surgeons, higher payments were associated with higher h-indices.

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Where the Sun Shines: Industry’s Payments to Transplant Surgeons

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

Here Comes the Sunshine: Industry’s Payments to Cardiothoracic Surgeons

Here Comes the Sunshine: Industry’s Payments to Cardiothoracic Surgeons

Industry Payments to Urologists in 2014: an Analysis of the Open Payments Program

The Dawn of Transparency

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