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. 2022 Dec;28(12):1655.e1-1655.e4.
doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2022.07.023. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

Trend in industry payments to infectious disease physicians in the United States: a seven-year analysis of nonresearch payments from the Open Payments Database between 2014 and 2020

Anju Murayama  1 , Kenji Nakano  2 , Sae Kamamoto  3 , Masaya Sato  4 , Hiroaki Saito  5 , Tetsuya Tanimoto  6 , Akihiko Ozaki  7
Affiliations

Trend in industry payments to infectious disease physicians in the United States: a seven-year analysis of nonresearch payments from the Open Payments Database between 2014 and 2020

Anju Murayama et al. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the trend in nonresearch payments made by the industries to the infectious disease physicians in the United States since the launch of the Open Payments Database and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Descriptive analysis was performed for the nonresearch payments made to all infectious disease physicians listed in the Open Payments Database between 2014 and 2020. Using the generalized estimating equation models with panel data of monthly and yearly payment per physician, the payment trend since the inception of the Open Payments Database and during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated.

Results: A total of 7901 (81.5%) infectious disease physicians received $156 837 987 in nonresearch payments between 2014 and 2020. Median annual payments were $197 to $220. Monthly nonresearch per-physician payments and number of physicians with payments rapidly decreased by 58.6% (95% CI: 49.7%‒65.9%, p < 0.001) and by 54.4% (95% CI: 52.7%‒56.1%, p < 0.001) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. However, the per-physician payments and number of physicians with payments slightly increased every month right after onset of the pandemic. Both per-physician payments and the number of physicians with payments decreased by 2.6% (95% CI: 0.45‒4.7, p 0.018) and 2.0% (95% CI: 1.6%‒2.4%, p < 0.001) since the inception of the Open Payments Database, respectively.

Discussion: The nonresearch payments and number of infectious disease physicians accepting payments had decreased since the inception of the Open Payments Database. Furthermore, the non-research payments to infectious disease physicians suddenly decreased by more than half due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health policy; Industry payments; Infectious disease physician; Open payments; Physician payment; Physician payments sunshine act; SARS-CoV-2; United States.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Monthly trend in general payments per physician and number of physicians with payments between 2014 and 2020.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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