ACPE Survey Sounds Alarm over Medtech Business PracticesACPE Survey Sounds Alarm over Medtech Business Practices
March 1, 2005
In an era when corporate behavior is widely suspect, it isn't surprising that companies in the healthcare sector have been subjected to scrutiny on many fronts. So far, federal prosecutors have not considered it necessary to investigate the business practices of the medical device industry on a broad scale. But if the attitudes of physician executives are any indication, that could change—and soon.
In a recent survey by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE; Tampa, FL), 79% of respondents said that they were very or moderately concerned about physicians being influenced by medical device companies to perform a certain procedure. That level of alarm was second only to concern over physicians who refuse patients without insurance (80%), and was even greater than respondents' concern over the influence of pharmaceutical companies (76%).
Among respondents to the ACPE survey, 63% also said that they were very or moderately concerned about physicians being paid to make promotional pitches for vendors. And 66% said that they were very or moderately concerned about nonphysician executives accepting gifts from vendors.
Nearly 1500 U.S. physician executives participated in the survey, which was published as part of a special report in the March/April issue of The Physician Executive: Journal of Medical Management. “The survey results show us a serious problem facing U.S. healthcare,” said ACPE president Marvin O. Kolb, MD. “Our challenge at ACPE and other professional organizations is to teach healthcare leaders how to identify and eliminate unethical business practices and behaviors.”
Release of ACPE's survey results came hard on the heels of a session at the annual meeting of industry association AdvaMed (Washington, DC), in which speakers cautioned that federal prosecutors have already begun to take a closer look at business practices in the medical device industry. Companies are being investigated for practices that violate federal fraud and abuse statutes, with emphasis on activities that bring sales and marketing personnel in direct contact with healthcare professionals.
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