Are oncologists' Twitter accounts driven by drug companies? TIME reports on a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, which tackles the question.
The study involved 634 hematologist-oncologists with active Twitter accounts in 2014. Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University researchers investigated whether drug companies paid these physicians, for reasons other than research or grants.
Here are five key notes:
1. Researchers found 72 percent of the oncologists received payments from drug companies.
2. Further, 44 percent of oncologists received payments of more than $1,000.
3. In one year, oncologist payments ranged from $100 to $50,000.
4. The study authors note they did not investigate the actual tweets, so they can not say whether or not the content related to specific drugs.
5. To dig deeper into the research, the study authors are currently conducting a second study tackling the question of whether conflict of interest impacts physicians' social media presence.