Pharmaceutical Payments to Japanese Board‐Certified Head and Neck Surgeons Between 2016 and 2019

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the magnitude, prevalence, and trend of the financial relationship between Japanese head and neck surgeons and pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019. Study Design Cross‐sectional analysis. Setting Japan. Methods This study evaluated personal payments concerning lecturing, consulting, and writing paid by 92 major pharmaceutical companies to all Japanese head and neck surgeons board‐certified by the Japan Society for Head and Neck Surgery between 2016 and 2019. The payments were descriptively analyzed and payment trend were assessed using population‐averaged generalized estimating equations. Further, the payments to board executive board members with specialist certification were also evaluated separately. Results Of all 443 board‐certified head and neck surgeons in Japan, 365 (82.4%) received an average of $6443 (standard deviation: $12,875), while median payments were $2002 (interquartile ranges [IQR] $792‐$4802). Executive board specialists with a voting right received much higher personal payments (median $26,013, IQR $12,747‐$35,750) than the non‐executive specialists (median $1926, IQR $765‒$4134, p < .001) and the executive board specialists without a voting right (median $4411, IQR $963‐$5623, p = .015). The payments per specialist and prevalence of specialists with payments annually increased by 11.4% (95% CI: 5.8%‐17.2%; p < .001) and 7.3% (95% CI: 3.8%‐11.0%; p < .001), respectively. Conclusion There were increasingly widespread and growing financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies among head and neck surgeons in Japan, alongside of introduction of novel drugs. The leading head and neck surgeons received much higher personal payments from pharmaceutical companies, and no sufficient regulation was implemented by the society in Japan.

Pharmaceutical payments to Japanese board-certified dermatologists: a 4-year retrospective analysis of personal payments from pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019

“…Feng et al reported 73.7% of all dermatologists received one or more payments from the healthcare industry in the United States in 2014 26 . Additionally, per-physician payments to dermatologists were also one of the lowest in Japan, followed by pediatric oncologists 4 – 8 , 28 , 32 . The reason for this lower payments may be explained by our limitation in data collection.…”

Financial relationships between board‐certified neurologists and the pharmaceutical industry in Japan

“…1,2,8 Previous studies indicate that most Japanese physicians receive personal payments for speaking and consulting, excluding food and travel expenses. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Neurological disorders, particularly dementia, are receiving increasing attention from the pharmaceutical industry in Japan. The number of dementia patients is rising sharply, with 4.62 million cases reported in 2012, 16 and it is predicted that more than 20% of all people aged 65 years and older will have dementia by 2030.…”

“…The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), representing over 70 leading pharmaceutical companies, mandates its members to disclose payments for lecturing, consulting and manuscript drafting to physicians, including recipients' names and affiliations, on their websites, as previously explained. 14,15 However, per JPMA guidelines, categories such as meals, travel, accommodations and other gifts are reported in aggregate, precluding individual-level analysis. 15 Therefore, our focus was on payments for lecturing, consulting and drafting services to neurologists.…”

“…14,15 However, per JPMA guidelines, categories such as meals, travel, accommodations and other gifts are reported in aggregate, precluding individual-level analysis. 15 Therefore, our focus was on payments for lecturing, consulting and drafting services to neurologists.…”

“…Due to the non-normal distribution of payments, we used a log-linked GEE model with a poisson distribution for the number of neurologists receiving payments and a negative binomial GEE model for payments per neurologist. [12][13][14][15] The study period was divided into two intervals (2016-2019 and 2020) to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on payment patterns, as observed in previous studies in the United States. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] For trend analysis, we adjusted for inflation, converting all payment values to their 2020 Japanese yen equivalents using the relative annual consumer price index.…”