Academic Productivity in Orthopaedic Traumatology Correlates Positively With Industry Compensation

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association between academic productivity and industry compensation among Orthopaedic Traumatologists. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Review of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Open Payments program from 2016 to 2020. Participants: 1120 Orthopaedic Traumatologists. Main Outcome Measurements: To determine if an Orthopaedic Traumatologist's h-index and m-index, as generated from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar User Profile databases, correlate with total payments from medical industry in 7 categories, including Royalties and Licensing Fees, Consulting Fees, Gifts, Honoraria, and 3 unique Speaking Fee delineations. Results: Of 30,343 Orthopaedic Surgeons in the Open Payments program, 1120 self-identified with the Orthopaedic Trauma taxonomy. From 2016 to 2020, 499 surgeons (44.6%) received compensation in one of the eligible categories, most commonly from Consulting Fees (67.3%), though payments from Royalties provided the greatest gross income (70.4%). Overall, for all 1120 surgeons, h-index (r = 0.253, P < 0.001) and m-index (r = 0.136, P < 0.01) correlated positively with mean annual total industry compensation. The highest annual compensation group had higher h-index ($0 vs. $1–$1k vs. $1k–$10k vs. >$10k: 5.0 vs. 6.6 vs. 9.6 vs. 16.8, P < 0.001) and m-index ($0 vs. $1–$1k vs. $1k–$10k vs. >$10k: 0.48 vs. 0.60 vs. 0.65 vs. 0.89, P < 0.001) scores than either the intermediate or the no compensation groups. Multivariable analysis of factors associated with increased industry compensation, including H-index and years active, identified both as having significant associations with physician payments [H-index (B = 0.073, P < 0.001); years active (B = 0.059, P < 0.001)]. Subgroup analysis of the highest annual earner group (>$250k/year) also demonstrated the highest overall h-index (27.6, P < 0.001) and m-index (1.23, P = 0.047) scores, even when compared with other high-earners ($10k–$50k, $50k–$250k). Overall, each increase in h-index above an h-index of 3 was associated with an additional $1722 (95% CI: $1298–2146) of annual industry compensation. Conclusions: Academic productivity metrics have a positive association with industry compensation for Orthopaedic Traumatologists. This may highlight a potential ancillary benefit to scholarly efforts.