Industry Payments Among Oculofacial Plastic Surgeons: An Open Payments Database Analysis

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Plastic Surgery
• Health Economics

Background:

• Financial relationships between industry and physicians are common in medical fields.
• Transparency in these relationships is crucial for maintaining trust and ethical practice.
• Oculofacial plastic surgery involves specialized procedures with potential industry support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the distribution of industry payments to members of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.
• To investigate the regularity and patterns of financial ties between industry and oculofacial plastic surgeons.

Main Methods:

• Included all American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons fellow members.
• Utilized data from the Open Payments Database for 2021-2023.
• Summarized payments by company and recipient, focusing on top companies and surgeons.

Main Results:

• 627 surgeons received over $13 million through 6,831 payments.
• Top 3 companies accounted for 69.5% of payments.
• Significant disparity observed, with a small number of surgeons receiving a large proportion of total payments.

Conclusions:

• Industry payments to oculofacial plastic surgeons are highly concentrated among a few individuals.
• Transparency in reporting open payments is vital for understanding physician-industry dynamics.
• The findings underscore a strong apical dominance in financial distributions within this specialty.