Taylor Brophy

Jacobs (United States), University of Rochester

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Taylor Brophy is a health policy researcher whose work exposes the troubling intersection of financial incentives and surgical practice. Her research centers on conflicts of interest in surgery, particularly the influence of industry payments on the adoption and utilization of robot-assisted surgical technologies. Brophy’s most cited study, “The impact of disclosure of conflicts of interest in studies comparing robot-assisted and laparoscopic cholecystectomies—a persistent problem” (2022, 6 citations), reveals how undisclosed financial ties continue to bias comparative effectiveness research, undermining evidence-based surgical decision-making. Her more recent work, “Trends in industry payments and volume and distribution of robot-assisted surgeries” (2025, 4 citations), builds on this foundation by demonstrating a clear correlation between surgical device industry payments and increased robotic surgery volume, extending the well-documented pharmaceutical influence framework to the surgical realm. Brophy’s contributions are particularly significant for their policy implications: by systematically documenting how financial relationships shape surgical technology adoption, she provides crucial evidence for reforming disclosure requirements and payment transparency in surgery. Her research serves as a vital resource for clinicians, hospital administrators, and policymakers seeking to safeguard surgical practice from commercial influence and ensure that technology adoption decisions prioritize patient outcomes over financial incentives.