Surgical society committee members disclosure of conflict of interest: show me the money

Disclosure of conflict of interest (COI) is important for surgical societies to minimize bias. The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) requires committee members to disclose potential COI to promote full transparency. This study investigates compliance with this requirement and quantifies the actual dollar amounts that ineligible companies, collectively “industry”, give to committee members.

All SAGES committee members were queried in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments database (OPD). The query results for 2023 and 2024 were compared to the actual self-reported disclosure statements submitted to SAGES in the spring of 2025. Due to the nature of the database, only US-based physicians were included. Only payments of $500 or more were recorded. Only committees whose rosters were available online were utilized. Incorrect disclosure was defined as a mismatch between the OPD and the member’s disclosure.

There were 930 individual committee members and 185 were excluded by OPD. Only 51% (382/745) of OPD queries matched disclosures. Correct disclosure occurred in 104/467 who had disclosable COI. Industry paid over $18,000,000 to committee members; one-third came from Intuitive Surgical. Members who received payments received an average of $38,992. The largest total amount to one individual was over $2,500,000. There was no difference in average payments received or appropriate disclosure rate by committee members on one committee versus those on multiple committees. Chair/co-chairs (n = 114) did not differ from other members (n = 631) in percent of appropriate disclosures (59 vs. 50%). However, chairs/co-chairs did receive larger payments ($37,501 vs. $22,021; p < 0.0035).

SAGES has set policies for disclosing COI. Enforcement of these policies is challenging. Many committee members receive large payments from industry; thus the actual dollar amount should also be reported. Full and accurate reporting will allow for full transparency and reduce perception of bias.