Table 2.
Trends in personal payments from Japanese pharmaceutical companies to infectious disease specialists certified by the Japanese Association for Infectious Disease between 2016 and 2019.
| Variables | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Average Yearly Change (95%CI), % | p-Value | Combined Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All pharmaceutical companies | |||||||
| Total payments, $ | 4,662,217 | 4,215,566 | 4,538,520 | 4,367,767 | – | – | 17,78,4070 |
| Average payments (SD), $ | 6134 (15,283) | 5775 (13,410) | 6108 (13,324) | 6033 (11,837) | −1.2 (−4.7–2.3) | 0.49 | 16,857 (45,010) |
| Median payments (IQR), $ | 1604 (511–4646) | 1430 (511–4531) | 1737 (642–5286) | 1554 (662–5258) | 3183 (938–11,250) | ||
| Payment range, $ | 92–216,035 | 92–160,610 | 95–190,726 | 31–144,593 | – | – | 31–711,965 |
| Physicians with specific payments, n (%) | |||||||
| Any payments | 760 (47.1%) | 730 (45.2%) | 743 (46.0%) | 724 (44.9%) | −1.3 (−2.9–0.4) | 0.13 | 1055 (65.4) |
| Payments > $500 | 612 (37.9%) | 594 (36.8%) | 628 (38.9%) | 616 (38.2%) | 0.8 (−1.1–2.6) | 0.43 | 930 (57.6) |
| Payments > $1000 | 482 (29.9%) | 436 (27.0%) | 485 (30.0%) | 453 (28.1%) | −0.8 (−2.9%–1.3) | 0.45 | 776 (48.1) |
| Payments > $5000 | 175 (10.8%) | 178 (11.0%) | 193(12.0%) | 187 (11.6%) | 2.8 (−0.8–6.5) | 0.13 | 419 (26.0) |
| Payments > $10,000 | 106 (6.6%) | 94 (5.8%) | 113 (7.0%) | 103 (6.4%) | 1.0 (−3.6–5.7) | 0.68 | 290 (18.0) |
| Payments > $50,000 | 16 (1.0%) | 14 (0.9%) | 17 (1.1%) | 14 (0.9%) | −1.9 (−15.9–14.3) | 0.80 | 82 (5.1) |
| Payments > $100,000 | 4 (0.2%) | 3 (0.2%) | 1 (0.1%) | 2 (0.1%) | −28.3 (−52.4–8.1) | 0.11 | 43 (2.7) |
| Gini index | 0.878 | 0.881 | 0.870 | 0.876 | – | – | 0.860 |
| Pharmaceutical companies with four-year payment data | |||||||
| Total payments, $ | 4,597,653 | 4,205,920 | 4,492,988 | 4,314,421 | – | – | 17,610,982 |
| Average payments (SD), $ | 6074 (15,169) | 5562 (13,383) | 6105 (13,312) | 5992 (12,825) | −1.3 (−4.7–2.3) | 0.48 | 16,788 (44,820) |
| Median payments (IQR), $ | 1603 (511–4642) | 1430 (511–4525) | 1737 (613–5280) | 1552 (662–5258) | 3183 (920–11,238) | ||
| Payment range, $ | 92–215,089 | 92–160,610 | 92–190,726 | 31–143,571 | – | – | 31–709,997 |
| Physicians with specific payments, n (%) | |||||||
| Any payments | 757 (46.9) | 730 (45.3) | 736 (45.6) | 720 (44.6) | −1.4 (−3.1–0.2) | 0.093 | 1049 (65.0) |
| Payments >$500 | 609 (37.7) | 593 (36.7) | 620 (38.4) | 610 (37.8) | 0.5 (−1.4–2.4) | 0.60 | 927 (57.4) |
| Payments > $1000 | 478 (29.6) | 436 (27.0) | 481 (29.8) | 452 (28.0) | −0.7 (−2.8–1.4) | 0.51 | 768 (47.6) |
| Payments > $5000 | 172 (10.7) | 179 (11.1) | 191 (11.8) | 186 (11.5) | 3.1 (−0.6–6.8) | 0.10 | 415 (25.7) |
| Payments > $10,000 | 106 (6.6) | 94 (5.8) | 112 (7.1) | 103 (6.4) | 0.9 (−3.7–5.6) | 0.71 | 289 (17.9) |
| Payments > $50,000 | 14 (0.9) | 14 (0.9) | 17 (1.1) | 14 (0.9) | 0.0 (−13.7–15.9) | 1.0 | 82 (5.1) |
| Payments > $100,000 | 4 (0.2) | 3 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | −28.3 (−52.4–8.1) | 0.11 | 42 (2.6) |
| Gini index | 0.879 | 0.881 | 0.871 | 0.876 | – | – | 0.860 |
IQR: interquartile range; SD: standard deviation.