Industry payments to pathologists in the USA between 2013 and 2021

Abstract

Although proper physician-industry financial relationships are essential for improving patient care, they can also cause potential conflicts of interest. However, little is known about the pathologist-industry financial relationships. Using the 2013-2021 Open Payments Database, this cross-sectional study investigated both research and non-research payments to all pathologists in the USA. Payment data were analyzed descriptively. Of 21,664 pathologists, 49.5% of all pathologists have received payments totaling $356.7 million from the healthcare industry, of which 68.2% were research payments. Median per-physician general and associated research payments (IQR) were $145($49–$575) and $70,926 ($17,450–$299,285) over the nine years. The top 1% of pathologists receiving general payments received 68.0% of all general payments. Male pathologists specializing in blood banking and transfusion medicine and hematopathology are significantly more likely than those not to receive research and non-research payments. This first study provides valuable insights into the financial relationships between pathologists and the healthcare industry.