Analysis reveals the impact of COVID-19 on pharmaceutical payments to healthcare providers in Japan, suggesting rising inequalities.
Rationale Pharmaceutical payments to healthcare providers can pose conflicts of interest. Long‐term trends in such payments in Japan remain under explored. Aims and Objectives This study examined pharmaceutical company payments to healthcare providers in Japan from 2016 to 2021, including the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods We conducted a repeated cross‐sectional analysis using publicly disclosed data on payments (lectures, consulting, and writing) from pharmaceutical companies. Payments were analyzed by year, amount, and specialty. Results Total payments remained stable from 2017 to 2019 ($249 million), dropped in 2020 ($172 million), and rose in 2021 ($272 million). The number of recipients declined overall, but mean and median payments per healthcare provider steadily increased. The share receiving over $100,000 rose from 0.09% to 0.17%. Cardiovascular and diabetes/metabolism/endocrinology specialists consistently received the highest payments. Conclusion Payments became more concentrated among high‐earning physicians following the COVID‐19 pandemic. Continued monitoring is needed to manage potential conflicts of interest.
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Hayashi et al. (2025) studied this question.
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