WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 -- From 2015 to 2022, there was an increase in industry payments per dermatologist, according to a research letter published in the May issue of SKIN.

Nicole J. Hardy, from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of U.S. dermatologists appearing in the Open Payments database between 2015 and 2022 to examine trends in industry payments. The average annual percentage change (AAPC) was calculated across study years using a joinpoint analysis.

A total of 2,616,289 payments totaling $494,271,790 made to dermatologists during the study period were included in the study. The researchers found that for the number of recipient dermatologists, total value of payments, and total number of payments, the AAPCs across the years were 1.5, 5.5, and 3.9 percent, respectively, with confirmed positive growth when data from 2020 to 2021 were excluded.

"The impact of physician-industry relationships on patient care in dermatology is debated and can have a positive effect by way of improved access to medications and more physician educational opportunities or a negative effect by influencing medical-decision making, leading to patient distrust," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Nested Knowledge; a second author disclosed ties to AbbVie.