Gender disparities in industry compensation and research payments among neurointerventional surgeons in the USA.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to examine the presence of gender disparity represented by industry payments and research funding within the field of interventional neuroradiology. METHODS: Payment information was collected using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payment database for the year 2019. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze differences in annual compensation based on sex in $US, while controlling for geographic factors, academic rank, and h-index. A sample t-test was performed to look at gender differences in h-indexes. RESULTS: The study cohort was comprised of 893 interventional neuroradiologists, 73 (8.2%) of which were female. Of the $48889.20 in mean annual payments reported in the database, $5847.13 (11.2%) went to female interventional neuroradiologists (P<0.05). The significant difference in compensation between male and female neuroradiologists was evident after controlling for state-level variance and academic position. There was a statistically significant difference in total reimbursement (P<0.001), research (P<0.001), consulting (P<0.04), food and beverage (P<0.02), and compensation for services other than consulting between males and females (P<0.02). A statistically significant difference was found for h-index based on gender (males=16.7, females=10.1; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that in the field of interventional neuroradiology, females receive less research funding and private industry compensation, have lower h-indexes, and are less likely to occupy the highest academic positions. The difference in funding did not differ when accounting for geographic state of practice and academic rank. Future studies should work to identify potential contributory factors of these trends.

Assessing the quality of publicly available videos on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients increasingly rely on the Internet for healthcare information. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of videos on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on YouTube™. METHODS: YouTube™ was searched for the terms "MDMA" and "PTSD." The 100 most viewed videos were analyzed using three standard quality measures: Global Quality Scores (GQS), JAMA benchmark, and DISCERN. Viewer engagement features and source of upload, video duration, inclusion of patient narrative and/or MD/DO/PhD, the mention of lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, side effects, potential for abuse, and use in conjunction with psychotherapy were recorded. RESULTS: The videos were of poor quality (mean GQS: 2.26 ± 0.94/5, JAMA: 1.96 ± 0.45/4, and DISCERN: 29.5 ± 8.2/80). A significant positive association was found between video quality and duration (GQS: r = .5857, p < .0001, JAMA: r = .279, p = .0409, DISCERN: r = .5783, p < .0001). Videos including an MD/DO/PhD had the highest scores (GQS: 2.87/5 [1.22], p = .006, DISCERN: 38.35/80 [13.32], p < .0003). A minority of videos were uploaded by academic institutions (1%); most were from professional organizations (29%). No correlation was found between quality and viewer engagement features-number of views, subscribers, likes/dislikes, or comments. A majority mentioned that MDMA must be used in conjunction with psychotherapy (85%) and is not FDA-approved (82%) for PTSD. Only 32% of videos mentioned risks or potential for abuse. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the need for better quality of online health material and an opportunity for involvement of healthcare professionals in the dissemination of accurate health information via content creation. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to examine publicly available information on the use of MDMA for PTSD.