Study: New Physicians Develop Financial Ties Quickly
February 1, 2023
A group of researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine wondered how long it takes for physicians to develop financial ties with industry after completing their graduate medical training.
Researchers analyzed Open Payments reports of industry payments made between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2021, to newly independent physicians from residency or fellowship programs in neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, and internal medicine who graduated between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2019. Researchers found relevant data for more than 45,000 physicians.1 Their findings suggest new physicians develop industry financial ties quickly.
“We found that the financial relationship between newly independent physicians and industry formed in the very early years of independent physician practice,” reports Misop Han, MD, professor of urology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
In the first two years of practicing independently, 95% of physicians in orthopedic surgery, 92% of physicians in neurosurgery, and 59% of internal medicine physicians accepted industry payments. Clinicians should be aware of financial relationships that may influence their clinical decision-making or professional judgment, Han cautions. “Earlier recognition and intervention during graduate medical education to improve professionalism and systems-based practice skills may limit future conflicts of interest with industry,” Han offers.
REFERENCE
1. Han M, Hogan SO, Holmboe E, et al. Trends in industry payments to physicians in the first 6 years after graduate medical training. JAMA Netw Open 2022;5:e2237574
Earlier recognition and intervention during graduate medical education to improve professionalism and systems-based practice skills may limit future conflicts of interest with industry.
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