Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings
Purpose: To characterize the relationship between academic productivity, as defined by the h-index, and industry payments for fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons in faculty positions at sports medicine fellowships. Methods: The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine fellowship dire...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666061X24001858 |
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| author | Benjamin Miltenberg, M.D. William L. Johns, M.D. Anthony N. Baumann, D.P.T. Faheem Pottayil, M.S. Bradley Richey, M.D. Albert T. Anastasio, M.D. Kempland C. Walley, M.D. Christopher C. Dodson, M.D. Sommer Hammoud, M.D. |
| author_facet | Benjamin Miltenberg, M.D. William L. Johns, M.D. Anthony N. Baumann, D.P.T. Faheem Pottayil, M.S. Bradley Richey, M.D. Albert T. Anastasio, M.D. Kempland C. Walley, M.D. Christopher C. Dodson, M.D. Sommer Hammoud, M.D. |
| author_sort | Benjamin Miltenberg, M.D. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: To characterize the relationship between academic productivity, as defined by the h-index, and industry payments for fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons in faculty positions at sports medicine fellowships. Methods: The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine fellowship directory was used to create a comprehensive list of all fellowship programs nationwide. Fellowship websites were then reviewed to generate a list of the teaching faculty associated with each program. Total nonresearch lifetime earnings were obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website. Academic productivity of each fellowship faculty was assessed via the h-index. Frequency counts and other descriptive statistic measures were used to describe the data for this study. Correlation was performed for continuous data using Spearman’s ρ. Results: Ninety orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowships were identified with a combined total of 574 orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowship faculty. There was a weak positive correlation between individual physician h-index and individual physician lifetime earnings at orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowships (P < .001; Spearman’s ρ = 0.329). There was a statistically significant difference between individual faculty h-index by quartile and individual faculty lifetime earnings (test statistic: 47.3; P < .001). There was no significant regional difference in payments, but there is remarkable heterogeneity in the distribution of payments to individual physicians, with the top 10% of physicians receiving over 80% of industry dollars. Conclusions: There is a positive correlation between academic productivity and industry payments at both the individual and institutional levels in orthopaedic sports medicine departments, although this relationship was greater at the fellowship level. Furthermore, the majority of nonresearch industry funding goes to a minority of physicians. Clinical Relevance: Evaluating the impact that nonresearch industry payments have on a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon’s research productivity can offer valuable insights into the relationship between industry compensation and scholarly output in this field. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-64db3d8492df492ab3f831eb6d3ef5e0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-061X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation |
| spelling | doaj-art-64db3d8492df492ab3f831eb6d3ef5e02025-08-20T02:17:28ZengElsevierArthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation2666-061X2025-04-017210104210.1016/j.asmr.2024.101042Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry EarningsBenjamin Miltenberg, M.D.0William L. Johns, M.D.1Anthony N. Baumann, D.P.T.2Faheem Pottayil, M.S.3Bradley Richey, M.D.4Albert T. Anastasio, M.D.5Kempland C. Walley, M.D.6Christopher C. Dodson, M.D.7Sommer Hammoud, M.D.8Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.; Address correspondence to Benjamin Miltenberg, M.D., 925 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A.Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.College of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, U.S.A.Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A.Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.Purpose: To characterize the relationship between academic productivity, as defined by the h-index, and industry payments for fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons in faculty positions at sports medicine fellowships. Methods: The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine fellowship directory was used to create a comprehensive list of all fellowship programs nationwide. Fellowship websites were then reviewed to generate a list of the teaching faculty associated with each program. Total nonresearch lifetime earnings were obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website. Academic productivity of each fellowship faculty was assessed via the h-index. Frequency counts and other descriptive statistic measures were used to describe the data for this study. Correlation was performed for continuous data using Spearman’s ρ. Results: Ninety orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowships were identified with a combined total of 574 orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowship faculty. There was a weak positive correlation between individual physician h-index and individual physician lifetime earnings at orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowships (P < .001; Spearman’s ρ = 0.329). There was a statistically significant difference between individual faculty h-index by quartile and individual faculty lifetime earnings (test statistic: 47.3; P < .001). There was no significant regional difference in payments, but there is remarkable heterogeneity in the distribution of payments to individual physicians, with the top 10% of physicians receiving over 80% of industry dollars. Conclusions: There is a positive correlation between academic productivity and industry payments at both the individual and institutional levels in orthopaedic sports medicine departments, although this relationship was greater at the fellowship level. Furthermore, the majority of nonresearch industry funding goes to a minority of physicians. Clinical Relevance: Evaluating the impact that nonresearch industry payments have on a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon’s research productivity can offer valuable insights into the relationship between industry compensation and scholarly output in this field.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666061X24001858 |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Miltenberg, M.D. William L. Johns, M.D. Anthony N. Baumann, D.P.T. Faheem Pottayil, M.S. Bradley Richey, M.D. Albert T. Anastasio, M.D. Kempland C. Walley, M.D. Christopher C. Dodson, M.D. Sommer Hammoud, M.D. Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation |
| title | Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings |
| title_full | Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings |
| title_fullStr | Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings |
| title_short | Academic Productivity at Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship Programs in the United States Has a Weak Positive Correlation With Nonresearch Lifetime Industry Earnings |
| title_sort | academic productivity at orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowship programs in the united states has a weak positive correlation with nonresearch lifetime industry earnings |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666061X24001858 |
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