Abstract

We sought to better understand the amounts and distribution of political contributions made by urologists in the United States.The Federal Election Commission was analyzed for political contributions from 2003 to 2022 using the search terms "urology," "urologist," or "urologic surgeon." Contributions were classified by political party (Democratic, Republican, or Independent) and were analyzed for temporal, geographic, and demographic trends.There were a total of 26,441 unique contributions that resulted in $9,943,205 after adjusting for inflation. The total amount of political contributions increased significantly over time, with higher numbers during presidential election years. The Republican party received the highest proportion of donations (69.1%). Importantly, women urologists and urologists working in academic centers were significantly more likely to contribute to Democratic committees (P < .001 for both). Texas had the highest total amount of contributions ($395,152). Overall contributions to urology political action committees have steadily decreased since 2011, while contributions to individual campaigns and nonurology political action committees have increased.Urologists have been increasingly contributing to political campaigns over the past 19 years, with most of their individual and political action committee contributions going to Republican committees and candidates. Future research evaluating how growing political engagement by urologists affects the development of new health care policy will be important as a new generation of urologists begins to enter practice.

View details for DOI 10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000413

View details for PubMedID 37341369