National Trends in and Concentration of Industry Payments to U.S. Psychiatrists, 2015–2021

Industry payments to psychiatrists remain poorly characterized. Using data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the authors of this repeated cross-sectional study detail the extent and concentration of nonresearch industry payments to psychiatrists from 2015 to 2021. The proportion of psychiatrists receiving industry payments, payment distribution, and payment concentration among psychiatrists was assessed. Among 56,955 psychiatrists, 75.0% received any industry payments from 2015 to 2021. These payments, totaling $357,971,774, were highly concentrated: 1% of psychiatrists received 74.7% of industry payments, with notable state-level variations in concentration of top industry-paid psychiatrists. The median psychiatrist received $0 from industry each year.