The Price of Gender Imbalance
The gender wage gap in medicine is well documented , but a new review of salary data for U . S . physicians in nonsurgical specialties finds that the extent of the income gap can depend on the gender composition of the practice :
• In practices with < 50 % male physicians , women earned $ 36,604 less than men .
• In practices with > 90 % male physicians , women earned $ 91,669 less than men .
“ There are many good reasons to have greater diversity in our workplaces , including the idea that if you make a workplace more diverse , some of the pay inequities we see will go away ,” the study ’ s senior author Anupam Jena , MD , PhD , said . “ This is exciting evidence that diversity can improve equity , not just in terms of representation , but in very tangible economic terms .”
Source : Whaley CM , Arnold DR , Gross N , Jena AB . Practice composition and sex differences in physician income : observational study . BMJ . 2020 ; 370 : m2588 .
The Weight of the Nation
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds the prevalence of adult obesity is increasing across the U . S ., putting more people at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 .
The number of states with an adult obesity prevalence ≥35 % has increased steadily in the last few years :
The Royal Treatment
According to a review of 2018 data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments program ,
91 % of teaching hospitals received non-research payments from the pharmaceutical industry , totaling $ 832 million .
The 12 states on the most recent list are : Alabama , Arkansas , Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Michigan , Mississippi , Oklahoma , South Carolina , Tennessee , and West Virginia .
“ While system and environment changes can take time , we can take small steps now to maintain or improve our health and protect ourselves during this pandemic ,” the agency wrote . “ Being active and eating a healthy diet can support optimal immune function and help prevent or manage chronic diseases that worsen outcomes from COVID-19 .”
Source : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , “ Obesity , Race / Ethnicity , and COVID-19 .”
2017 : 6 states 2018 : 9 states 2019 : 12 states
Most of these payments – $ 626 million – were related to royalties from licensed discoveries . Smaller amounts went to education-related payments , compensation for services , and gifts , and charitable contributions .
The median value of payments received was $ 20,384 , but a single hospital received payments of nearly $ 462 million ( primarily related to royalties ).
Source : Anderson TS , Gellad WF , Good CB . Characteristics of biomedical industry payments to teaching hospitals . Health Aff . 2020 ; 39:1583-1591 .
64 ASH Clinical News November 2020