• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Log in
  • Search
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
www.sages.org

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Awards
    • Who Is SAGES?
    • Leadership
    • Our Mission
    • Advocacy
    • Committees
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
  • Meetings
    • SAGES NBT Innovation Weekend
    • SAGES Annual Meeting
      • 2026 Scientific Session Call for Abstracts
      • 2026 Emerging Technology Call for Abstracts
    • CME Claim Form
    • SAGES Past, Present, Future, and Related Meeting Information
    • SAGES Related Meetings & Events Calendar
  • Join SAGES!
    • Membership Application
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Types
      • Requirements and Applications for Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Affiliate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Associate Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Candidate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for International Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements for Medical Student Membership
    • Member Spotlight
    • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Join the SAGES Patient Partner Network (PPN)
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find A SAGES Surgeon
  • Publications
    • Sustainability in Surgical Practice
    • SAGES Stories Podcast
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Patient Information From SAGES
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • MesSAGES – The SAGES Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Archive
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • Wellness Resources – You Are Not Alone
    • Avoid Opiates After Surgery
    • SAGES Subscription Catalog
    • SAGES TV: Home of SAGES Surgical Videos
    • The SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Program
    • Masters Program
    • Resident and Fellow Opportunities
      • MIS Fellows Course
      • SAGES Robotics Residents and Fellows Courses
      • SAGES Free Resident Webinar Series
      • Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Course for Fellows
      • Fellows’ Career Development Course
    • SAGES S.M.A.R.T. Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES @ Cine-Med Products
      • SAGES Top 21 Minimally Invasive Procedures Every Practicing Surgeon Should Know
      • SAGES Pearls Step-by-Step
      • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video Activity
  • Opportunities
    • Fellowship Recognition Opportunities
    • SAGES Advanced Flexible Endoscopy Area of Concentrated Training (ACT) SEAL
    • Multi-Society Foregut Fellowship Certification
    • Research Opportunities
    • FLS
    • FES
    • FUSE
    • Jobs Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
  • OWLS/FLS
You are here: Home / Abstracts / Disclosure at #SAGES2018: An Analysis of Physician-Industry Relationships of Invited Speakers at the 2018 SAGES National Meeting

Disclosure at #SAGES2018: An Analysis of Physician-Industry Relationships of Invited Speakers at the 2018 SAGES National Meeting

Alex Lois, MD, Anne Ehlers, MD, Jennifer Minneman, MD, Jin Sol Oh, MD, Saurabh Khandelwal, MD, Andrew S Wright, MD. University of Washington

Background: It is well established that all potential conflicts of interest (COI) should be disclosed by speakers at scientific meetings, and is required at the SAGES national meeting. Industry payments to US physicians are publicly reported in the Open Payments Database (OPD). A number of studies show high levels of unreported COI in the medical and surgical literature. Papers with undisclosed COI tend to be more favorable to industry. To date there is no research on COI reporting at surgical meetings. Given stringent reporting requirements, we hypothesized that COI disclosure compliance at the SAGES national meeting would be high. A secondary aim is to characterize the amount, source, and variation in industry payments to speakers.

Methods: We analyzed a convenience sample of all talks given on one day of the SAGES 2018 national meeting (4/11/18), as recorded and made available on SAGESTV. We recorded the presence of COI disclosure and disclosed industry relationships. For US physicians we also searched the OPD and recorded all industry payments > $500. We compared the self-disclosed COI for each speaker with OPD records.

Results: Of 136 videos, 117 had a disclosure slide with 2 talks having verbal COI disclosure (88% compliance). Median number of disclosures was 3±2.2 (range 0-12), with 113/124 speakers reporting at least 1 industry relationship (91%). There were 72 companies with disclosed relationships, the most common being Covidien/Medtronic (24 disclosures), Ethicon/J&J (19), Olympus (9), Intuitive (8), and W.L. Gore (7). Of 95 US Physician speakers, 42 had payments >$500 reported to the OPD from 27 companies. Of these, the median # payments was 2±1.4 (range 1-7) with median compensation $13,596±31,837 (range $1,011-$147,408). Companies with the most payments were Covidien/Medtronic (15, total payments $139,298), Intuitive (12, $113,194), Ethicon/J&J (11, $246,773), W.L. Gore (11, $91,327), and Boston Scientific(5, $91,327). Of 292 disclosures, 79 were not found in the OPD (27%). 31 payments reported by industry to the OPD were not disclosed by speakers, median $4087±13,187 (range $506-$53,641).

Conclusions: Overall compliance with disclosure rules is high. Many disclosures do not appear in the OPD, likely reflecting industry relationships that do not fall under OPD reporting requirements. There remains a small number of undisclosed payments, some of which are substantial. The amount of compensation varies greatly, and potential conflict may be influenced by the amount of compensation. Adjustments to disclosure rules to include the relative amount of compensation may be warranted. 


Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.

Abstract ID: 95642

Program Number: S102

Presentation Session: Diversity

Presentation Type: Podium

74

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky

Related


sages_adbutler_leaderboard

Hours & Info

11300 West Olympic Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064

1-310-437-0544

[email protected]

Monday – Friday
8am to 5pm Pacific Time

Find Us Around the Web!

  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · SAGES · All Rights Reserved

Important Links

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals