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Murayama A. Industry-sponsored meal payments are associated with prescriptions and Medicare expenditures on brand-name colchicine in the United States. Int J Rheum Dis 2024; 27:e14962. [PMID: 37923570 DOI: 10.1111/1756-185x.14962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
AIM To investigate the association between industry-sponsored meal payments and the prescribing patterns of brand-name colchicines, namely Colcrys and Mitigare, among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States from 2014 to 2021. METHODS This cross-sectional study utilized data from the Open Payments Database and Medicare Part D covering the years 2014 to 2021. The study included 54 836 physicians who submitted more than 10 colchicine claims. Exposure was defined as the receipt of one or more industry-sponsored meals from the manufacturers of Colcrys or Mitigare. The primary outcomes included the likelihood of prescribing Colcrys and Mitigare, as well as the associated number of claims and Medicare expenditures. RESULTS Among 54 836 eligible physicians, 44.9% received meal payments from the Colcrys manufacturer, and 8.0% from the Mitigare manufacturer, over the eight-year study period. The average meal payment value was $14.9 for Colcrys and $15.1 for Mitigare. The receipt of meal payments was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of prescribing Colcrys (odds ratio: 1.24 [95% CI: 1.21-1.27], p < .001) and Mitigare (odds ratio: 3.54 [95% CI: 2.98-4.20], p < .001). Each additional meal payment corresponded with a significant increase in Medicare expenditures: $55.4 (95% CI: $48.3-$62.5, p < .001) for Colcrys and $153.7 (95% CI: $17.7-$289.6, p = .03) for Mitigare. These associations remained consistent across different specialties and genders. CONCLUSION This study reveals that receipt of meal payments from manufacturers of brand-name colchicine was significantly associated with an increased rate of prescriptions for these brand-name drugs, leading to higher Medicare expenditures in the United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Murayama
- School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai City, Japan
- Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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Murayama A, Kamamoto S, Saito H, Ozaki A. Pharmaceutical payments to Japanese board-certified dermatologists: a 4-year retrospective analysis of personal payments from pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7425. [PMID: 37156855 PMCID: PMC10167352 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34705-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
There are prevalent financial relationships between dermatologists and pharmaceutical companies in Japan. However, little was known about the extent of whole picture of the personal payments made to dermatologists by pharmaceutical companies. This study aimed to examine the personal payments to the board-certified dermatologists by the Japanese Dermatological Association from the pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019. Using the publicly disclosed payments data by the pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019, we evaluated the magnitude, prevalence, and trends in the personal payments made to all board-certified dermatologists for the lecturing, writing, and consulting compensations. The payments were descriptively analyzed overall and by dermatologist demographics. Additionally, the payment trends were assessed by generalized estimating equation models. Of 6883 active board-certified dermatologists, 3121 (45.3%) received a total of $33,223,806 personal payments between 2016 and 2019. The median per-physician payments and number of payments (interquartile range) were $1737 ($613-$5287) and 4.0 (2.0-10.0) over the 4 years, respectively. Only top 1%, 5%, 10% of dermatologists received 41.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 38.2-45.1%), 76.9% (95% CI 74.7-79.1%), and 87.6% (95% CI 86.2-88.9%) of overall payments. The number of dermatologists receiving payments and per-dermatologist payments increased by 4.3% (95% CI 3.1‒5.5%, p < 0.001) and 16.4% (95% CI 13.5‒19.4%, p < 0.001) each year. The board-certification in dermatology-oncology, in cosmetic dermatology, and male sex were significantly associated with higher personal payments with relative monetary values of 2.29 (95% CI 1.65-3.19, p < 0.001), 3.16 (95% CI 1.89-5.26, p < 0.001), and 5.38 (95% CI 4.12-7.04, p < 0.001). Less than half of Japanese board-certified dermatologists received lower personal payments from the pharmaceutical companies than those to other specialists. However, these personal payments were increasingly more prevalent and greater over the 4 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Murayama
- Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
| | - Sae Kamamoto
- Faculty of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Saito
- Medical Governance Research Institute, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Soma Central Hospital, Soma, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Akihiko Ozaki
- Faculty of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jyoban Hospital of Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan
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Murayama A, Hoshi M, Saito H, Kamamoto S, Tanaka M, Kawashima M, Mamada H, Kusumi E, Sapkota B, Shrestha S, Shrestha R, Bhandari D, Sawano T, Yamashita E, Tanimoto T, Ozaki A. Nature and Trends in Personal Payments Made to the Respiratory Physicians by Pharmaceutical Companies in Japan between 2016 and 2019. Respiration 2022; 101:1088-1098. [PMID: 36353778 PMCID: PMC9811425 DOI: 10.1159/000526576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Financial relationships between healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies have historically caused conflicts of interest and unduly influenced patient care. However, little was known about such relationship and its effect in clinical practice among specialists in respiratory medicine. METHODS Based on the retrospective analysis of payment data made available by all 92 pharmaceutical companies in Japan, this study evaluated the magnitude and trend of financial relationships between all board-certified Japanese respiratory specialists and pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019. Magnitude and prevalence of payments for specialists were analyzed descriptively. The payment trends were assessed using the generalized estimating equations for the payment per specialist and the number of specialists with payments. RESULTS Among all 7,114 respiratory specialists certified as of August 2021, 4,413 (62.0%) received a total of USD 53,547,391 and 74,195 counts from 72 (78.3%) pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019. The median (interquartile range) 4-year combined payment values per specialist were USD 2,210 (USD 715-8,178). At maximum, one specialist received USD 495,332 personal payments over the 4 years. Both payments per specialist and number of specialists with payments significantly increased during the 4-year period, with 7.8% (95% CI: 5.5-9.8; p < 0.001) in payments and 1.5% (95% CI: 0.61-2.4; p = 0.001) in number of specialists with payments, respectively. CONCLUSION The majority of respiratory specialists had increasingly received more personal payments from pharmaceutical companies for the reimbursement of lecturing, consulting, and writing between 2016 and 2019. These increasing financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies might cause conflicts of interest among respiratory physicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Murayama
- Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan,Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan,*Anju Murayama,
| | - Momoko Hoshi
- Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan,Department of Public Health Nursing, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Saito
- Department of Gastroenterology, Sendai Kosei Hospital, Sendai, Japan
| | - Sae Kamamoto
- Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Moe Kawashima
- Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan,School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
| | | | - Eiji Kusumi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Navitas Clinic Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Binaya Sapkota
- Nobel College Faculty of Health Sciences, Affiliated to Pokhara University, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Sunil Shrestha
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
| | - Rajeev Shrestha
- Department of Pharmacy, District Hospital Lamjung, Besisahar, Nepal
| | | | - Toyoaki Sawano
- Department of Surgery, Jyoban Hospital of Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Japan
| | | | - Tetsuya Tanimoto
- Department of Internal Medicine, Navitas Clinic, Tachikawa, Japan
| | - Akihiko Ozaki
- Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan,Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Jyoban Hospital of Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Japan
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Marshall DC. In Reply to Halperin. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2021; 111:573-574. [PMID: 34473973 PMCID: PMC8830908 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2021.05.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Deborah C Marshall
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Radiation Oncology, New York, NY.
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Marshall DC, Tarras ES, Chimonas S. Industry Payments to Medical Oncologists-Reply. JAMA Oncol 2021; 7:1073-1074. [PMID: 34042942 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.1290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Deborah C Marshall
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | | | - Susan Chimonas
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
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Royce TJ, Gupta GP, Chera BS. Increasing Nonresearch-Related Industry Funding in Radiation Oncology: Cause for Concern? Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2021; 109:26-28. [PMID: 33308695 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Trevor J Royce
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
| | - Gaorav P Gupta
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Bhisham S Chera
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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