18-05-2025
When the data is the story: reporting on the doctors on Big Pharma's payroll
Every so now and then I'll encounter a database that's a real feat of engineering. Despite aggregating an enormous amount of data, it works seamlessly and is intuitive to use for members of the public and researchers alike.
Open Payments is one of those databases: It publishes tens of millions of transaction records every year, allowing patients to see how much money their doctors have received from pharma and medical device companies within seconds.
At nearly 750,000 entries, the dataset of transactions between companies and medical practitioners in Cincinnati was extensive. It covered $136 million worth of payments over the past seven years and is the largest dataset I have analyzed on the job.
While it required many rounds of analysis, gut checks, and calls and texts with those more data savvy than I – Open Payments allowed me to identify the highest earning doctors in industry payments in the Cincinnati area and interview them. Writing this story has reinforced my belief that often, the data is the story.
Having access to a detailed, easily searchable, and publicly available database also allowed me to ask readers to search their own doctors and relay what they found back to me.
A dozen readers responded to our survey, while a few more wrote emails.
People wrote in about their primary care doctors, surgeons and cardiologists, who received payments ranging from less than $100 to millions of dollars. They worked at TriHealth, UC Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, and Christ Hospital, along with a couple private equity-owned physician groups.
Using the database elicited varying reactions in readers.
Joan Doyle, who was disappointed to find at least a dozen of her family's doctors had received industry money, had mixed feelings. She said she loves her doctors but wondered what their industry ties might mean for the quality and cost of care provided to herself, her husband and their daughter.
Sandy Pittman, of Cleves, felt differently.
'I really don't care, because I trust my doctors enough,' shared Pittman, who looked up the records of her cardiologist. 'That's the biggest thing.'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reporting on the doctors on Big Pharma's payroll
