There has been a lot of news lately about conflicts of interest in the field of medicine. This has ranged from drug companies paying doctors to do research to device companies paying doctors for implanting certain devices. It has even gone as far as industry sponsorship of medical schools*. In the economic climate of declining reimbursements, physicians are looking for other sources of funds. Similarly, medical schools are looking for sponsors to improve their schools.
There is a strong backlash against industry sponsorship. Some medical centers prohibit vendors to enter campuses or sponsor events. The Department of Justice has investigated orthopaedic companies and their consulting agreements with surgeons. Similarly investigations have looked into cardiologists and their relationships with and research results pertaining to stent companies.
Although conflicts may exist, it is becoming clearer and clearer that industry is intertwined with the medical profession. Simply put, the field of medicine cannot advance at its rapid pace without industry sponsorship. The public demands the best that medical technology can offer. We simply will not accept what is second rate.
Thus, the question is, how does industry and medicine coexist without conflicts that adversely affect patient care? One proposal is to allow industry to contribute into a blind fund for medical schools or medical centers. In this proposal, the medical institution or organization would have to accept that they would not know where the funds came from. However, this would prevent any conflicts because the funds would not be linked to any donors or special interests. This proposal would also weed out industry sponsors who only sponsor to influence treatment decisions.
*Editor’s Note: Click here to read Greg Beatty’s review of University, Inc. which talks about corporate sponsorship of scientific researches in American universities.
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It’s in the interest of health insurance providers to ensure that those with coverage do not agree unnecessarily to products, procedures, or prescriptions that they do not need, or that will not benefit them in a manner proportionate to costs.
Insurance companies should educate those who are covered with online tutorials or in-person events so that they’re armed with the questions to ask when they suspect their HCP is trying to push something on them. Just as HCPs can receive continuing ed credits, so too could the insured from their insurance companies, perhaps in exchange for some kind of goodie (although as I type that I am sure that some regulatory beast would prohibit that kind of incentivizing).
Of course, all of this is simply band-aid tactics for the real problem: our fear of death.