# Potential conflict of interest of SAGES annual meeting presentations: can we do better?

## TL;DR

This paper examines potential conflicts of interest among authors presenting at SAGES annual meetings and finds that many undisclosed conflicts involve significant financial payments.

## Contribution

The study introduces a new method to assess the adequacy of conflict of interest disclosures by analyzing payment amounts from the OpenPayments database.

## Key findings

- Most authors disclosed potential conflicts of interest, but many undisclosed authors had significant financial ties.
- Average payments for significant conflicts exceeded $100,000, with some authors receiving over $1 million.
- Simple disclosure of conflicts may not fully inform audiences about the extent of financial relationships.

## Abstract

ACCME defines ineligible companies as “those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products…”. Relationships with ineligible companies may create a potential conflict of interest (pCOI). Disclosure of pCOI is essential for integrity of educational programming and ACCME mandates disclosing these relationships. We investigated significant pCOI (spCOI), defined as total payments > $10,000 over the 2 years prior a meeting. We hypothesize that while most authors disclose pCOI appropriately at SAGES, simple disclosure of pCOI does not fully inform audiences of pCOI at scientific meetings.

Payment information for authors at the 2023 and 2024 SAGES Annual Meeting was extracted from the OpenPayments™ database(https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov). Authors not found were searched via Google, LinkedIn, affiliation websites, NPI, and/or state medical board websites. Authors were divided as Disclosed pCOI vs. Not Disclosed pCOI, the latter including those with no mention of COI, stated no relevant COI, or stated no COI.

Total authors were similar in 2023 and 2024(792 vs. 796). Trainees, non-physicians, and non-US physicians were excluded leaving 296 eligible authors in 2023 and 387 in 2024. The proportion of Disclosed was similar in 2023 and 2024(16% vs. 21%; p = ns). Presence of spCOI was similar in 2023 and 2024(25% vs 24%). Average spCOI payment was greater than $100,000 and  not statistically different between groups or by meeting year. Only 51.5% of spCOI were disclosed. The highest paid author received over $868,000 in 2023 and over $1.35 million in 2024.

The majority of authors disclosed their pCOI at SAGES in 2023 and 2024. Undisclosed authors may still have spCOI. Disclosure allows audiences to decide if relationships impact data presented. Disclosing the mere existence of pCOI seems insufficient as the amount of dollars is substantially high for some authors. All presentations should include the dollar amounts for full disclosure of pCOI for future programs.