Why Our Health Costs Keep Increasing? Doctors Using Medical Devices They own

There are many reasons why health care in America is the most expensive in the world, and one of them is that too many doctors would rather make more money than practice good medicine.

The latest example was in the Wall Street Journal ins a story written by John Carreyrou and Tom McGinty which disclosed the latest conflict of interest involving surgeon’s who use medical equipment from companies they own instead of using less invasive procedures or cheaper alternative equipment.

“Rather than use spinal implants from third-party manufacturers, scores of surgeons have started their own device makers to churn out similar designs, putting themselves in a position to benefit financially from the hardware they insert into patients,” the article said, noting that doctors don’t disclose that conflict to their patients.

“Critics of such arrangements say they give surgeons an incentive to do more operations, and that the conflict of interest has led to a spate of unnecessary back surgeries that waste health-care dollars and often do patients more harm than good. “Patients are having huge operations that are un-indicated because of this,” says Scott Lederhaus, a neurosurgeon in Pomona, Calif., and member of the Association for Medical Ethics, an organization of doctors that focuses on conflicts of interest,” the article says.

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1 Comment on "Why Our Health Costs Keep Increasing? Doctors Using Medical Devices They own"

  1. What are “devises”? Is this article about “medical devices?”

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