Table 2.
General payments to practicing radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and other hospital-based physicians in the US*, 2014–2018
| Specialty Group | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Cumulative (all years combined) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radiation Oncologists | ||||||
| Physicians receiving general payment(s) (%)†, no. [N=3,743] | 2,314 (61.8) | 2,440 (65.2) | 2,426 (64.8) | 2,493 (66.6) | 2,403 (64.2) | 3,379 (90.3) |
| Value of payments‡, USD | $3,507,972 | $5,791,188 | $5,264,122 | $5,101,660 | $21,093,209 | $40,758,149 |
| Number of payments, no. | 17,219 | 20,714 | 23,022 | 23,351 | 22,624 | 106,930 |
| Median per-physician value of general payments (IQR), USD | $134 (44, 367) | $150 (52, 419) | $159 (59, 526) | $146 (49, 480) | $152 (45, 474) | $604 (206, 2144) |
| Mean per-physician value of general payments (SD), USD | $1,516 (9760) | $2,373 (20698) | $2,170 (17590) | $2,046 (10173) | $8,779 (307069) | $12,062 (262006) |
| Median per-physician number of general payments (IQR), no. | 3 (1,8) | 4 (2, 9) | 4 (2, 11) | 4 (2, 10) | 4 (2, 10) | 12 (5, 32) |
| Mean per-physician number of general payments (SD), No. | 7 (12) | 8 (14) | 9 (15) | 9 (15) | 9 (16) | 32 (57) |
| Medical Oncologists | ||||||
| Physicians receiving general payment(s) (%)†, no. [N=10,270] | 8,081 (78.7) | 8,116 (79.0) | 7,993 (77.8) | 7,925 (77.2) | 7,978 (77.7) | 9,651 (94.0) |
| Value of payments‡, USD | $55,506,615 | $63,883,350 | $74,588,744 | $77,681,989 | $75,210,414 | $346,871,112 |
| Number of payments, no. | 293,955 | 322,158 | 350,998 | 363,653 | 352,483 | 1,683,247 |
| Median per-physician value of general payments (Range), USD | $778 (182, 2844) | $790 (171, 3252) | $923 (187, 4062) | $953 (171, 4424) | $824 (147, 4016) | $3,962 (743, 15652) |
| Mean per-physician value of general payments (SD), USD | $6,869 (26211) | $7,871 (28004) | $9,332 (36606) | $9,802 (34787) | $9,427 (33439) | $35,941 (129326) |
| Median per-physician number of general payments (IQR), no. | 14 (4, 50) | 15 (4, 54) | 17 (4, 62) | 17 (4, 64) | 15 (4, 60) | 57 (12, 225) |
| Mean per-physician number of general payments (SD), No. | 36 (51) | 40 (57) | 44 (61) | 46 (65) | 44 (64) | 174 (265) |
| Other Hospital-Based Physicians | ||||||
| Physicians receiving general payment(s) (%)†, no. [N=99,802] | 40,680 (40.8) | 41,046 (41.1) | 41,106 (41.2) | 39,088 (39.2) | 37,467 (37.5) | 69,575 (69.7) |
| Value of payments‡, USD | $78,255,389 | $88,415,352 | $90,595,115 | $86,909,551 | $92,908,387 | $437,083,793 |
| Number of payments, no. | 405,449 | 440,996 | 489,381 | 489,207 | 450,444 | 2,275,477 |
| Median per-physician value of general payments (Range), USD | $106 (29, 343) | $109 (32, 362) | $111 (32, 379) | $107 (30, 378) | $105 (29, 360) | $212 (67, 966) |
| Mean per-physician value of general payments (SD), USD | $1,924 (20131) | $2,154 (23625) | $2,204 (24161) | $2,223 (21975) | $2,480 (37589) | $6,282 (75983) |
| Median per-physician number of general payments (IQR), no. | 2 (1, 8) | 3 (1, 8) | 3 (1, 8) | 3 (1, 8) | 2 (1, 8) | 5 (2, 17) |
| Mean per-physician number of general payments (SD), No. | 10 (23) | 11 (25) | 12 (28) | 13 (30) | 12 (29) | 33 (98) |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; no., number; USD, 2014 United States dollars; SD, standard deviation.
The number of physicians in the US was determined using the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) database and includes a nationally representative cohort of physicians in 2014. Practicing physicians were determined by inclusion in Physician Compare, a CMS quality database that includes all physicians receiving Medicare payments.
Based on individual allopathic and osteopathic physicians in Open Payments receiving a general industry payment between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018, compared to the estimated total number of allopathic and osteopathic physicians in a 2014 cohort as per the NPPES and Physician Compare databases.
Total value of general payments to individual physicians as reported to Open Payments, in adjusted 2014 US dollars.