Geographical and Temporal Trends in Industry Engagement Among Otolaryngologists 2017 to 2023

To identify trends in industry payments (IPs) to otolaryngologists from 2017 to 2023, particularly evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cross-sectional retrospective analysis.

Open Payments Database.

Non-research payments to otolaryngologists 2017 to 2023 were characterized by census region, nature of payment, submitting manufacturer, and temporal trends.

448,093 transactions worth $85.6 million were found with a median payment per physician of $47.81. Payments sharply decreased in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic ($17.4 million/year pre-pandemic 2017 to 2019 to $7.7 million in 2020) but partially rebounded to $13.7 million/year by 2023. High-value payments (>$10,000) increased significantly post-pandemic (mean 124/year, 2021-2023) compared to pre-pandemic (mean 75/year, 2017-2020, P < .0001). Food and beverage were the most frequent payment type (88%; 17% of total value), but the greatest payment value came from consulting fees (2.6% of payments; 36% of total value). The top 5 states for industry payments (IPs) were California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania, accounting for 45% of nationwide IPs. The Northeast had the highest per-physician payments, whereas the South received the highest percentage (35%) of total funds. Twenty-six companies accounted for 80% of payments.

The number of IPs decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic but has approached pre-pandemic levels, driven by increased high-value payments. A small number of companies account for most payments. There is significant geographical heterogeneity, suggesting regional differences in physician-industry engagement and potentially disparate patient access to innovations. Future studies should clarify how industry funding influences otolaryngology clinical practice.