🔍 Before you say yes to a surgery or implant, you may want to check one thing: who is paying your surgeon?
Open Payments is a free government tool that tracks payments drug and device companies report giving to doctors and teaching hospitals — consulting fees, speaking fees, royalties, ownership, and, most commonly, free meals. 💰
Tim Ferriss highlighted it in 5-Bullet Friday, capturing Charlie Munger's point: "Show me the incentive, and I'll show you the outcome."
A doctor with $0 in payments is free to recommend any treatment. A doctor getting large, recurring payments from one company may be more likely to recommend that company's products. And the small stuff adds up — thousands of dollars a year in lunches and dinners show who has their ear.
Ferriss's own example: one surgeon recommended a conservative, minimal approach and had $0 in tracked payments. The other recommended extensive surgery with implants and had received roughly $1 million from the company that makes those implants.
A payment doesn't mean your doctor is bad. Many top specialists consult because they're experts. But if a doctor wants to put a specific device in your body, you deserve to know if they're paid by the company that makes it. ⚖️
Open Payments Data: https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov
Tim Ferriss - 5-Bullet Friday: https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/