PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013-2022

2024-03-28
(Press-News.org) HERSHEY, Pa. — Despite evidence that financial conflicts of interest may influence medical practice and research and may erode patient trust in medical professionals, these relationships remain pervasive. According to a new analysis of the Open Payments platform, a database that tracks payments between physicians and industry, a team led by a Penn State researcher found that doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013 and 2022. 

Their findings published today (March 28) in JAMA. It’s one of the first studies to look at industry payments longitudinally and by specialty. 

“Overall, it shows that the Open Payments is not much more than a ledger sheet. Whether there is a need for deterrence or changed behaviors requires a broader conversation with public involvement,” said Andrew Foy, associate professor, Penn State College of Medicine and corresponding author on the paper.

In 2013, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act was passed in response to calls for greater transparency on financial relationships between physicians and teaching hospitals and the makers of drugs and medical devices. It led to the creation of the Open Payments database. Manufacturers are required to submit information on all payments and transfers of value.

For this paper, the team used data from Open Payments from 2013 to 2022. They included payments (both cash and non-cash equivalents) to physicians for consulting services, non-consulting services, food and beverages, travel and lodging, entertainment, education, gifts, grants, charitable contributions and honoraria. They analyzed data across 39 specialties. They also looked at within-specialty variation — the difference between the median amount paid to physicians in a specialty and the mean amount paid to the top 0.1% of physicians in that specialty. Lastly, they determined the 25 drugs and medical devices associated with the largest total payments.

The analysis showed that more than half of physicians received at least one payment and roughly 94% of payments were associated with one or more marketed medical product. A small percentage of physicians received the largest amounts, often exceeding $1 million. Orthopedic surgeons received the greatest sum of payments while pediatric surgeons received the least amount. 

Other authors on the paper are Ahmed Sayed from Ain Shams University, Joseph Ross from Yale School of Medicine, John Mandrola from Baptist Health, Lisa Soleymani Lehmann from Harvard Medical School.

This project was not supported by external grants or funds.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Discovery suggests new strategy against follicular lymphoma

2024-03-28
A team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine has identified important drivers of the transformation of a type of blood cancer called follicular lymphoma from a slow-growing form to the aggressive form it takes in some patients. The study, published March 7 in Cancer Cell, showed that while mutations affecting a gene-regulating complex called BAF can put the cancer on a dangerous trajectory, they also make follicular lymphoma highly susceptible to experimental BAF-inhibitor drugs. “These encouraging findings could address critical and urgent challenges with this disease and have prompted us to begin planning clinical trials ...

Making the future too bright: how wishful thinking can point us in the wrong direction

2024-03-28
Everyone indulges in wishful thinking now and again. But when is that most likely to happen and when could it actually be harmful? A new study, led by the University of Amsterdam (UvA), demonstrates unequivocally that the greater the insecurity and anxiety of a situation, the more likely people are to become overly optimistic – even to the point where it can prevent us from taking essential action. The study's results have now been published in the journal American Economic Review. ‘People aren't purely truth-seekers - many beliefs are influenced by ...

Ochsner Health named to Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces 2024 for Job Starters

2024-03-28
NEW ORLEANS, La – Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group have named Ochsner Health one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Job Starters in 2024. In a survey that included more than 75,000 young professionals and more than 540,000 company reviews, Ochsner earned 5 out of 5 stars. As the leading not-for-profit healthcare provider in the Gulf South, Ochsner is committed to championing career development among new professionals. "We at Ochsner are honored to receive recognition as a place of employment that offers ...

Three-year study of young stars with NASA’s Hubble enters new chapter

Three-year study of young stars with NASA’s Hubble enters new chapter
2024-03-28
In the largest and one of the most ambitious Hubble Space Telescope programs ever executed, a team of scientists and engineers collected information on almost 500 stars over a three-year period. This effort offers new insights into the stars' formation, evolution, and impact on their surroundings.  This comprehensive survey, called ULLYSES (Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards), was completed in December 2023, and provides a rich spectroscopic dataset obtained in ultraviolet light that astronomers will be mining for decades to come. Because ultraviolet light can ...

North Carolina takes the lead in PFAs research with Collaboratory’s $3 million investment to expand the state’s research capacity

2024-03-28
WILMINGTON, N.C. (March 27, 2024) – The North Carolina Collaboratory – an organization dedicated to advancing scientific research for policymaking within North Carolina – today announced its partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific to advance the State’s per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) research capabilities. Supported by critical appropriations from the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA), the Collaboratory purchased five state-of-the-art mass spectrometers that continue to position North Carolina at the forefront of academic PFAS research nationally. This new partnership ...

Is it the school, or the students?

2024-03-28
Are schools that feature strong test scores highly effective, or do they mostly enroll students who are already well-prepared for success? A study co-authored by MIT scholars concludes that widely disseminated school quality ratings reflect the preparation and family background of their students as much or more than a school’s contribution to learning gains.  Indeed, the study finds that many schools that receive relatively low ratings perform better than these ratings would imply. Conventional ...

Exploring the relationship between HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and the incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis – findings from Denmark

Exploring the relationship between HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and the incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis – findings from Denmark
2024-03-28
In their research article published in Eurosurveillance, von Schreeb et al. challenge existing assumptions regarding the relationship between the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the incidence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STI). According to the concept of sexual risk compensation, the start of PrEP treatment – a drug regimen which effectively prevents acquiring HIV – is associated with rises in STI as people feel protected against HIV while using it. However, von Schreeb et al. argue that available ...

Music: Song lyrics have become simpler and more repetitive since 1980

2024-03-28
We have been alerted to a potential error in some of the coding used by the authors in their analyses and are looking into this as a matter of urgency. The authors are confident that the main findings of the paper will remain unaltered, however some aspects may be affected and we have removed two sentences from the press release to reflect this. We will provide an update if there are further developments. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. The lyrics of English-language songs have become simpler and more repetitive over the past 40 years, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Eva Zangerle and ...

Environment: More than half of Colorado River’s water used to irrigate crops

2024-03-28
Irrigation for agriculture uses more than half of the Colorado River’s total annual water flow, reports a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment. This finding is part of a new comprehensive assessment of how the Colorado River’s water is consumed — including both human usage and natural losses — and provides a more complete understanding of how the river’s water is used along its over 2,300 km (almost 1,500-mile) length. The Colorado River flows through the southwestern United States (including the Grand Canyon) and northwestern Mexico whilst supplying water to more than 40 million people and more than 2 million ...

When inequality is more than “skin-deep”: Social status leaves traces in the epigenome of spotted hyenas in Tanzania

When inequality is more than “skin-deep”: Social status leaves traces in the epigenome of spotted hyenas in Tanzania
2024-03-28
A research consortium led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) provide evidence that social behaviour and social status are reflected at the molecular level of gene activation (epigenome) in juvenile and adult free-ranging spotted hyenas. They analysed non-invasively collected gut epithelium samples from both high-ranking and low-ranking female hyenas and showed that rank differences were associated with epigenetic signatures of social inequality, i.e., the pattern of activation or switching off of genes that regulate important physiological processes such as energy conversion and immune response ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Wetland plant-fungus combo cleans up ‘forever chemicals’ in a pilot study

Traditional Chinese medicine combined with peginterferon α-2b in chronic hepatitis B

APS and SPR honor Dr. Wendy K. Chung with the 2026 Mary Ellen Avery Neonatal Research Award

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (Kids First DRC) has launched the Variant Workbench

Yeast survives Martian conditions

Calcium could be key to solving stability issues in sodium-ion batteries

Can smoother surfaces prevent hydrogen embrittlement?

Heart rate changes predict depression treatment success with magnetic brain stimulation

Genetics pioneer transforms global depression research through multi-omics discoveries

MDMA psychiatric applications synthesized: Comprehensive review examines PTSD treatment and emerging therapeutic indications

Psychedelics offer new therapeutic framework for stress-related psychiatric disorders

Brain cell discoveries reshape understanding of psychiatric disorders

Mom’s voice boosts language-center development in preemies’ brains, study finds

Development of silicon ultrasound patch achieves both eco-friendliness and performance enhancement

Measles immunity 90% in BC’s Lower Mainland

Women’s brain regions may lose ability to synchronize after sexual assault

Quitting smoking, even late in life, linked to slower cognitive decline

Critical raw materials are a vital new currency; Europe’s e-waste is the vault

Anesthesiologist-led care helps hip-fracture patients get to surgery faster, with fewer complications

Two-dose recombinant shingles vaccine is effective even accounting for prior receipt of live shingles vaccine

Excessive daytime sleepiness may raise risk of cognitive problems after surgery

Flipping the switch on sperm motility offers new hope for male infertility

Twisting sound: Scientists discover a new way to control mechanical vibrations in metamaterial

Drip by drip: The hidden blueprint for stalagmite growth

mRNA therapy restores sperm production and fertility in mice

New way to weaken cancer cells could supercharge prostate cancer treatment

How sound—but not touch—shapes rhythm in the brain

Exploring the therapeutic potential of hypothermia

Research alert: Bioengineering breathes new life into failed cancer treatment

AI, health, and health care today and tomorrow – the JAMA Summit Report on artificial intelligence

[Press-News.org] Doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013-2022