Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Disparities in industry funding among Colorectal Surgeons: a cross-sectional study

  • Published:
Surgical Endoscopy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Health Industry and physician collaboration generates innovation. Colorectal Surgeon (CRS) selection to collaborate might not be random. We aim to identify CRS personal and professional characteristics that facilitate collaboration with the Industry.

Method

Cross-sectional study of Industry payments to CRS (2014–2018) using Open Payments Database from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Multivariable regression compared variables predicting payment amount including gender, years in practice, leadership positions, H-index, Twitter presence and geographic location.

Results

Surgeons who were male received 3.1 times the amount in Industry payments as compared to females (p = 0.014). Chairs and Division Chiefs received 2.7 times the amount in payments as compared to those without these leadership positions (p = 0.003). Surgeons with an H-index ≥ 8 received 2.2 times the amount in payments as compared to those with H-index < 8 (p = 0.001). Surgeons in practice for 12–19 and 20–30 years received 3 times and 4.4 times the amount in payments as compared to surgeons in practice for 1–11 years (p = 0.036 and p = 0.017, respectively). Surgeons in the South received 3.2 times and 2 times the amount in payments as compared to surgeons in the Northeast (p < 0.0005) and in the Midwest (p = 0.006). Surgeons with Twitter accounts received 1.7 times the amount in payments as compared to surgeons without Twitter (p = 0.036). Among Twitter users, those with 321–17,200 followers received 4.7 times and 9.5 times the amount in payments as compared to those with 0–15 and 16–79 followers, respectively (p = 0.008 and p = 0.009).

Conclusion

Industry payments are more commonly addressed to male, senior surgeons in leadership tracks with strong social media outreach. With the increasing gender and racial variety in the CRS field, it is expected that collaborations between industry and surgeons will become more diverse and inclusive.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. D’Hooghe T (2017) Transparent collaboration between industry and academia can serve unmet patient need and contribute to reproductive public health. Hum Reprod 32:1549–1555. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex230

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Belk D The True Cost Of Health Care. The Pharmaceutical Industry. https://truecostofhealthcare.org/the_pharmaceutical_industry/. Accessed 28 Feb 2021

  3. Institute for Health & Socio-Economic Policy (2016) The R&D smokescreen: the prioritization of marketing & sales in the pharmaceutical industry: IHSP

  4. Schwartz LM, Woloshin S (2019) Medical marketing in the United States, 1997–2016. JAMA 321:80–96. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19320

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Leonardo Alves T, Lexchin J, Mintzes B (2019) Medicines information and the regulation of the promotion of pharmaceuticals. Sci Eng Ethics 25:1167–1192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-018-0041-5

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Qian J, Hansen RA, Surry D, Howard J, Kiptanui Z, Harris I (2017) Disclosure of industry payments to prescribers: industry payments might be a factor impacting generic drug prescribing. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 26:819–826. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.4224

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Elson NC, Le DT, Johnson MD, Reyna C, Shaughnessy EA, Goodman MD, Lewis JD (2021) Characteristics of general surgery social media influencers on twitter. Am Surg 87:492–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003134820951427

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Kaleem SZ, Parikh S, Yang K, Poggio JL (2020) Industry payments in colon and rectal surgery: a cross-sectional analysis of open payments data. J Surg Res 254:369–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2020.05.013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. United States Census Bureau, Geography Division. 2010 Census Regions and Divisions of the United States. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-maps/2010/geo/2010-census-regions-and-divisions-of-the-united-states.html. Accessed 20 Sep 2020

  10. Frank J. Fabozzi, Sergio M. Focardi STR and BGA (2014) The basics of financial econometrics: tools, concepts, and asset management applications. Appendix E: Model Selection Criterion: AIC and BIC

  11. Peters WR, Ramamoorthy S (2020) Delivery of colorectal surgical care in 2018: results From the 2018 ASCRS compensation survey. Dis Colon Rectum 63:887–889. https://doi.org/10.1097/DCR.0000000000001714

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Sismondo S (2015) How to make opinion leaders and influence people. CMAJ 187:759–760. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.150032

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Meffert JJ (2009) Key opinion leaders: where they come from and how that affects the drugs you prescribe. Dermatol Ther 22:262–268. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8019.2009.01240.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Moynihan R (2008) Key opinion leaders: independent experts or drug representatives in disguise? BMJ 336:1402–1403. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39575.675787.651

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Weiner JA, Cook RW, Hashmi S, Schallmo MS, Chun DS, Barth KA, Singh SK, Patel AA, Hsu WK (2017) Factors associated with financial relationships between spine surgeons and industry: an analysis of the open payments database. Spine(Phila Pa 1976) 42:1412–1418. https://doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0000000000002121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Patel SV, Klingel M, Sonoda T (2016) An assessment of the industry-faculty surgeon relationship within colon and rectum surgical training programs. J Surg Educ 73:595–599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2016.01.013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Marcello PW (2013) Working with industry: what is the conflict? Clin Colon Rectal Surg 26:12–16. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1333628

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Dominguez EP, Barrat C, Shaffer L, Gruner R, Whisler D, Taylor P (2013) Minimally invasive surgery adoption into an established surgical practice: impact of a fellowship-trained colleague. Surg Endosc 27:1267–1272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-012-2594-8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Slakey DP, Korndorffer JR, Long KN, Clark T, Hidalgo M (2013) The modern surgery department chairman: the job description as identified by chairmen. JAMA Surg 148:511–515. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2013.1230

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Ray GS, Lechtig A, Rozental TD, Bernstein DN, Merchan N, Johnson AH (2020) Gender disparities in financial relationships between industry and orthopaedic surgeons. J Bone Joint Surg Am 102:e12. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.19.00669

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Eloy JA, Bobian M, Svider PF, Culver A, Siegel B, Gray ST, Baredes S, Chandrasekhar SS, Folbe AJ (2017) Association of gender with financial relationships between industry and academic otolaryngologists. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 143:796–802. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2017.0276

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Raber I, McCarthy CP, Al Rifai M, Vaduganathan M, Michos ED, Wood MJ, Smyth YM, Ibrahim NE, DeFaria YD, Asnani A, Mehran R, McEvoy JW (2020) Gender differences in industry payments among cardiologists. Am Heart J 223:123–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2019.11.021

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Rose SL, Sanghani RM, Schmidt C, Karafa MT, Kodish E, Chisolm GM (2015) Gender differences in physicians’ financial ties to industry: a study of national disclosure data. PLoS ONE 10:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Weiss A, Parina R, Tapia VJ, Sood D, Lee KC, Horgan S, Freischlag JA, Blair SL, Ramamoorthy SL (2018) Assessing the domino effect: female physician industry payments fall short, parallel gender inequalities in medicine. Am J Surg 216:723–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.07.031

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Adams-Harmon D, Greer-Williams N (2020) Successful ascent of female leaders in the pharmaceutical industry: a qualitative, transcendental, and phenomenological study. Astronomy Geophys 59:533–536

    Google Scholar 

  26. Bukhari N, Manzoor M, Rasheed H, Nayyer B, Malik M, Babar Z-U-D (2020) A step towards gender equity to strengthen the pharmaceutical workforce during COVID-19. J Pharm policy Pract 13:15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Arora A, Kaur Y, Dossa F, Nisenbaum R, Little D, Baxter NN (2020) Proportion of female speakers at academic medical conferences across multiple specialties and regions. JAMA Netw Open 3:e2018127. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.18127

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Brooks AW, Huang L, Kearney SW, Murray FE (2014) Investors prefer entrepreneurial ventures pitched by attractive men. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111:4427–4431. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321202111

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Eloy JA, Kilic S, Yoo NG, Mcleod T, Svider PF, Baredes S, Folbe AJ, Couldwell WT, Liu JK (2017) Is industry funding associated with greater scholarly impact among academic neurosurgeons? World Neurosurg 103:517–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2017.03.110

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Greene J, Kesselheim A (2015) An age-old battle: the FDA versus the shill [Internet]. The Atlantic. Available from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/fda-drug-promotion-social-media/404563/

  31. King M, Bearman PS (2017) Gifts and influence: Conflict of interest policies and prescribing of psychotropic medications in the United States. Soc Sci Med 172:153–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.11.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Grande D (2010) Limiting the influence of pharmaceutical industry gifts on physicians: self-regulation or government intervention? J Gen Intern Med 25:79–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1016-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. OpenQ KOL Identification & Management. https://www.anjusoftware.com/solutions/medical-affairs/ta-scan-openq/openq. Accessed 24 Feb 2021

  34. KOL Engagement. Kendall Healthcare. http://kendlehealthcare.com/what-we-do/kol-engagement/. Accessed 24 Feb 2021

  35. Real-Time KOL Discovery & Management with AI. Innoplexus. https://www.innoplexus.com/life-science-ai-products-solutions/ontosight-influence/. Accessed 24 Feb 2021

  36. KOL Monitoring & Engagement. OMNI by LARVOL. https://www.larvol.com/solutions/omni. Accessed 24 Feb 2021

Download references

Acknowledgements

None.

Funding

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, 02215-5400, USA

    Alessandra Storino, Carolina Vigna, John C. Polanco-Santana, Ernest Park, Kristen Crowell, Anne Fabrizio, Thomas E. Cataldo & Evangelos Messaris

Authors
  1. Alessandra Storino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carolina Vigna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John C. Polanco-Santana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ernest Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kristen Crowell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anne Fabrizio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Thomas E. Cataldo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Evangelos Messaris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Evangelos Messaris.

Ethics declarations

Disclosures

Alessandra Storino, MD MSc, Carolina Vigna, MD, John C Polanco-Santana, MD, MSc, Ernest Park, Kristen Crowell, MD, Anne Fabrizio, MD, Thomas E Cataldo, MD, FACS, FASCRS, Evangelos Messaris, MD, PhD, FACS, FASCRS they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 115 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Storino, A., Vigna, C., Polanco-Santana, J.C. et al. Disparities in industry funding among Colorectal Surgeons: a cross-sectional study. Surg Endosc 36, 6592–6600 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-022-09062-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-022-09062-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation