Characterizing Industry Payment to Trauma Surgeons Under the Open Payments Program.

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Medical Economics
• Surgical Research

Background:

• The U.S. Open Payments Program, established in 2013, mandates transparency regarding financial ties between healthcare providers and industry.
• This initiative aims to mitigate potential bias in clinical decision-making by disclosing financial relationships.
• Understanding these financial flows is crucial for maintaining objectivity in healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and characterize financial payments made by industry to trauma surgeons in the United States.
• To quantify the total amount and distribution of these payments over a defined period.

Main Methods:

• Data was extracted from the Open Payments Program database for physicians identified as trauma surgeons.
• Membership lists from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma were cross-referenced to ensure comprehensive inclusion.
• Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze payment data by surgeon, payment type, industry payer, year, and geographic location.

Main Results:

• A total of 2444 trauma surgeons were identified, with 2205 receiving non-research industry payments.
• Total payments amounted to $13,274,335.85 between 2017 and 2023, with a mean individual payment of $6022.84.
• The top 50 recipients garnered 55.8% of all funds, and Intuitive Surgical was the largest contributing company, accounting for 33.6% of payments. Less than 25% of funds were allocated to educational purposes.

Conclusions:

• This study represents the first comprehensive characterization of industry payments directed towards trauma surgeons.
• Further research is warranted to investigate the potential influence of these financial relationships on clinical judgment and decision-making processes in trauma surgery.