EmergeOrtho—Triangle Region, a regional leader for orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and other specialties, is pleased to announce that Dr. Phillip Shadduck and Dr. Thomas Scarritt recently published two peer-reviewed manuscripts in the journal Surgical Endoscopy. Both manuscripts address disclosure of financial relationships with industry, conflict of interest, and professional ethics in medicine, specifically among members of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES).
Surgical Endoscopy is a peer reviewed publication of SAGES. It is highly regarded by gastrointestinal (GI) and endoscopic surgeons and it has one of the highest impact factors among all surgical publications.
Dr. Shadduck and Dr. Scarritt both contributed to the paper “Concordance of Financial Disclosures Among Faculty at the 2018-2020 SAGES Annual Meetings.”
Disclosing financial relationships with industry and conflicts of interest in health care are important to reducing medical bias and improving outcomes for patients. In this paper, the authors investigated industry payments to physicians who were presenting at SAGES Annual Meetings from 2018 to 2020.
The authors compared self-reported industry financial payments to the information found in the Open Payments Database. They found increases in industry relationships with physicians but also better self-reporting of financial disclosures by physicians.
Dr. Shadduck was the lead author of the white paper “SAGES Perspective: Professional Medical Associations, Commercial Interests, and Conflicts of Interest.”
The authors addressed ongoing improvements to disclosing and managing potential conflicts of interest within SAGES, including at the annual scientific meeting and in the development of accredited continuing education. They reported a decrease in perceived incidence of bias at the annual meeting, from 4.4% to 6.2% between 2008-2010, to 1.2% to 2.2% from 2011-2013, to about 1% or less currently.
Both papers demonstrate the ongoing challenges of physician disclosure of medical payments,industry relationships, and conflicts of interest. SAGES continues to improve its processes to improve transparency, minimize conflicts, and exclude presenters with ownership interest.
Dr. Shadduck specializes in gastrointestinal, hernia, and general surgery at the EmergeOrtho in Durham. He has published more than 50 scientific articles, abstracts, and book chapters.
Dr. Scarritt is a general surgeon at EmergeOrtho’s Brier Creek, Burlington, and Durham locations and specializes in GI and minimally invasive procedures.
Learn more about Dr. Shadduck and Dr. Scarritt and how they help patients in the Triangle Region.
