Industry payments to female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgeons: an analysis of Sunshine Act open payments from 2014–2017

We aim to examine the financial relationship between industry and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgeons (FPMRS) during the first four full calendar years since the implementation of the Sunshine Act.

All board-certified FPMRS specialists were identified using the American Board of Medical Specialties directory. Program directors (PDs) were identified using an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) database. All identified physicians were categorized by gender, specialty, and American Urological Association (AUA) region. Payment data for each individual from 2014 to 2017 were accessed using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments website. Statistical analyses were performed to elucidate payment trends.

Of the 1,307 FPMRS physicians identified, 25.1% (n = 328) are urology-trained and 74.9% (n = 979) are obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN)-trained. Of all physicians analyzed, 6.8% had no reported payments over the 4-year period. 90.1%, 86.5%, 85.3%, and 84.4% received some sort of payment in 2014 to 2017 respectively. Median total payments for all physicians decreased yearly, whereas mean payments decreased from 2014 to 2015 before increasing in all subsequent years. Median general payments were higher for men versus women, urology-trained versus OB/GYN-trained, and PDs versus non-PDs in all years analyzed. The largest contributor to overall payments was the “others” compensation category, which includes gifts, royalties, honoraria, and non-continuing medical education speaking engagements.

Since institution of the Sunshine Act, the percentage of physicians receiving payments has decreased each year. Additionally, there has been a decrease in median total payments and an increase in yearly research payments in all years analyzed.