Browse Pharmaceutical Payments by Medical Specialty

Pharmaceutical payment patterns vary significantly across medical specialties. Some fields, such as orthopedics and oncology, involve expensive drugs and devices that drive higher payment volumes. Other specialties, such as family medicine and pediatrics, typically see lower pharmaceutical spending. Understanding these patterns helps patients contextualize their own doctor's payment profile.

Why Specialty Matters for Pharma Payments

The medical specialty of a physician is one of the most important factors in understanding their pharmaceutical payment profile. Specialties that prescribe expensive brand-name drugs, use medical devices that require training, or are involved in clinical research tend to receive more pharmaceutical industry payments. A cardiologist receiving $50,000 in consulting fees may be entirely typical for that specialty, while the same amount would be unusual for a family medicine physician.

DoctorPharmaData provides AI-powered peer comparisons that account for specialty-specific norms, so you can understand whether a payment is routine or notable for that particular field of medicine.

All Medical Specialties -- Payment Rankings

The following list shows all medical specialties in our database, ranked by total pharmaceutical payments received. Click on any specialty to see detailed payment data, top physicians, and AI analysis.

SpecialtyTotal PaymentsTransaction CountPhysicians
Oncology$22.8M2,3742,374
Neurology$20.2M1,7861,786
Rheumatology$14.7M1,3631,363
Cardiology$11.9M1,3271,327
Ophthalmology$11.4M1,0651,065
Internal Medicine$10.5M1,1021,102
Pulmonology$10.3M1,1611,161
Dermatology$8.9M871871
Hematology$8.2M823823
Psychiatry$6.5M588588
Endocrinology$5.4M680680
Gastroenterology$5.2M546546
Hepatology$4.2M299299
Nephrology$3.5M344344
Infectious Disease$3.2M292292
Genetics$3.1M212212
Allergy & Immunology$2.8M318318
Pediatrics$2.4M223223
Rare Disease$1.8M159159
General Surgery$1.4M172172
HIV Medicine$1.3M171171
Radiology$1.2M162162
Orthopedic Surgery$899.1K147147
Plastic Surgery$856.8K149149
Pain Management$790.1K165165

Top Doctors by Specialty

Browse the highest-paid physicians in each medical specialty. Click any physician's name to view their full transparency report.

Oncology

Neurology

Rheumatology

Cardiology

Ophthalmology

Internal Medicine

Pulmonology

Dermatology

Hematology

Psychiatry

Endocrinology

Gastroenterology

Hepatology

Nephrology

Infectious Disease

Genetics

Allergy & Immunology

Pediatrics

Rare Disease

General Surgery

HIV Medicine

Radiology

Orthopedic Surgery

Plastic Surgery

Pain Management

Understanding Payment Types by Specialty

Different specialties tend to receive different types of pharmaceutical payments:

  • Surgical specialties (Orthopedics, Cardiovascular Surgery) -- Often receive payments for medical device consulting, training, and royalties
  • Oncology -- Significant research funding for clinical trials, plus consulting on new cancer drugs
  • Psychiatry -- Speaking fees and consulting for psychotropic medications
  • Primary Care (Internal Medicine, Family Medicine) -- Predominantly meal payments from sales representatives
  • Subspecialties (Cardiology, Gastroenterology) -- Mix of device consulting, drug advisory boards, and speaking

Other Ways to Explore

  • Browse by State -- See geographic breakdowns of pharmaceutical payments
  • Search -- Find specific doctors, companies, or drugs