Industry payments in oral and maxillofacial surgery: a review of 112,478 payments from a national disclosure program

Publication date: Available online 30 November 2018

Source: Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Author(s): Kevin C. Lee, Sung-Kiang Chuang, Hossein E. Jazayeri, Alia Koch, Sidney B. Eisig

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to characterize the sources, amounts, and nature of general industry payments to oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs).

Methods

The Open Payments database was searched from August 2013 to December 2017 for all general payments made to OMS. For each payment, data was recorded regarding the date, value, paying organization, and nature of the payment. ANOVAs were performed to compare payments amounts per surgeon, number of payments per surgeon, and amount per payment across payment years.

Results

Overall, there were 112,478 payments totaling $28,644,063.20. Although on average each year 69% of OMS received at least one payment, the top 10% of earners accounted for 89% ($25,607,781) of all payments. Each OMS received a median total of $93.75 (IQR:33-263) and an average of $1,109.68 (SD:14,297; range:2-2,250,345) per year. The mean payment value was $254.73 (SD:2,727; range:0.01-548,126) compared to a median of $28.90 (IQR:15-82). The majority of payments were food and beverage (72%); however, the most dollars were spent on consulting fees ($5,594,087; 20%). From 2014-2016, there were significant decreases in the amount of payments (p<0.01) and number of payments (p<0.01) per surgeon, as well as the value of each payment (p<0.01).

Conclusion

Although OMS receive a substantial amount of industry payments, the overall figure is driven by a small percentage of top earners. The majority of individual payments were of nominal value and their effect on clinical practice remains to be seen.

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