INTRODUCTION: Gender disparities in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) are well documented, with women consistently earning less than men in comparable roles. Many physicians receive payments from the medical industry, which can represent a significant portion of their overall professional income. However, little is currently known about the extent and patterns of industry-related income among gynecologists. OBJECTIVE: To compare medical industry-related income among female and male gynecologists. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, using data from the Open Payments database, from 2018 to 2024. Only general payments to gynecologists, based on taxonomy codes, were included. We compared characteristics of female and male gynecologists. The primary outcome was mean total and mean cash or cash equivalent payment amount by gender. Secondary outcomes included form (cash/in-kind) and nature (education/travel/food, etc. ) of payments and annual trends. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 119, 345 payments totaling 25, 785, 751 were reported, of which 18, 094, 881 were paid as cash. Of all payments, 69, 407 (58. 2%) were made to female and 49, 938 (41. 8%) to male gynecologists. The most common recipients’ practice region was the Southern USA, comprising 46. 5% for female and 52. 0% for male gynecologists. The most common payments were related to drugs (71. 8% and 65. 4%), and to devices (22. 7% and 27. 0%) for female and male physicians, respectively (p<. 001). Mean cash payment amounts were 1390. 5 for females and 1424. 4 for males (p=. 402). Total mean payment amount was 168. 3 for females and 282. 4 for males (p<. 001). Differences remained statistically significant after linear regression, adjusting for confounders. There was a gradual and constant increase in the proportion of payments to females, from 52. 4% in 2018 to 63. 0% in 2024 (p<0. 001). Mean total payment amount also increased consistently for women, from 121. 2 in 2018 to 195. 8 in 2024 (p<. 001), but remained unchanged for men (222. 2 in 2018, 233. 9 in 2024). The most common form of payment was in-kind items and services, 91. 0% among females and 86. 8% among males, and cash or cash equivalent (9. 0% vs 13. 2%, respectively; p<. 001). Entertainment, food and beverage, travel and lodging were the most common payment nature among females and males (89. 9% and 87. 9%, respectively; p<. 05), followed by education (4. 7% and 4. 2%, respectively; p<. 05). CONCLUSIONS: While cash payments were comparable between females and males, total mean industry payments were 40% lower for female gynecologists, and they were less likely to receive payments in the form of cash. There was a positively increasing trend in the proportion of female payment recipients and in the mean total payment amount to female recipients over a seven-year period. Further research is needed to identify the causes of disparity and their impact on gynecologists’ practice and research. Table 1Figure 1Figure 2
Meyer et al. (Fri,) studied this question.