Distribution of Paycheck Protection Program to otolaryngology practices during the COVID‐19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID‐19) has impacted physician practices in many ways with some ENT clinics reporting around a 50% drop in completed scheduled ENT visits during the first wave of the pandemic compared to 2019. AIMS: This study surveyed first round PPP loan disbursement to otolaryngology practices in the United States in response to COVID‐19. METHODS: A cross‐sectional study was conducted using publicly available data published on PPP by the SBA. Otolaryngology clinics receiving loans greater than $0.15M were filtered using the following terms: “otolaryngology”, “otolaryngologist”,“sinus”, “head and neck”, “throat”, “ENT”, and “facial plastic”. 481 ENT clinics that received loans greater than $0.15 M from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were identified. Loan amount, business type, geographicregion, owner race, owner gender, and the number of jobs per business were recorded for each clinic. Chi‐square analysis was performed to determine significance (P < 0.05) of each characteristic. RESULTS: Loan distribution was significantly different based on jobs reported (P < .001) and business type (P < .001). 100% of loans ranging from $0.15 M to $0.35 M went to micro and small practices whereas 33% of medium‐sized practices received loans greater than $1 M. Higher proportions of Subchapter corporations (60.00%) received smaller loans of $0.15 to $0.35 M than Limited Liability Companies (39.13%) and Corporations (51.69%) which generally employ more people. DISCUSSION: Loan distribution was significantly different between businesses based on jobs reported (P < 0.001), with micro/small practices recieving smaller loans than their medium counterparts. All large businesses recived loans in in excess of $2 M. This suggests proportional distribution of loans in accordance with jobs reported. CONCLUSION: This study suggests PPP funding was objectively distributed to ENT clinics based on staff size. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4.