Gender differences in the medical industries’ payments to physicians: a systematic review
International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
ISSN: 1750-6123
Article publication date: 30 December 2021
Issue publication date: 26 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore gender differences in payments made to physicians by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries via the performance of a systematic review of articles based on the Open Payments Database (OPD).
Design/methodology/approach
Three databases (Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed) were searched for articles published from September 30, 2014 to May 10, 2019, using two search terms: “Sunshine Act” and “Open Payments.” The systematic review is reported according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
Findings
The search identified 359 abstracts. Thirty-nine articles were selected for full review, and 17 of these met the inclusion criteria. Although the articles considered are based on the same database, they adopt diverse approaches and analyses are conducted in different ways. A substantial proportion of the studies show total payments from the two industries to be higher for male physicians than for female physicians. However, a few exceptions exist, higher female mean or median values occurring for payments involving research, ownership, honoraria, grants, royalties/licenses and travel/lodgings. Also, in the case of obstetric–gynecological specializations, a higher proportion of women than men are shown to cooperate with the industries.
Originality/value
There is gender inequality in terms of industries’ funding for doctors. While analyses of secondary OPD data show that a gender inequality exists, they do not provide an understanding of why this occurs. However, from the exceptions identified, it can be speculated that this phenomenon is connected with greater adherence to ethical standards on the part of female physicians and/or the likelihood that fewer opportunities for industrial cooperation are extended to them.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank Fundacja Kościuszkowska for supporting Marta Makowska stay in the US.Funding: The research received support in the form of grant for Dr Marta Makowska from the Kosciuszko Foundation, which enabled her to work as a Visiting Scholar for three months at Saint Joseph’s University, in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Citation
Makowska, M. and Sillup, G.P. (2022), "Gender differences in the medical industries’ payments to physicians: a systematic review", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 157-181. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-04-2020-0031
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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