Medical device maker Boston Scientific is under investigation for its payments to doctors -- and for payments to charities with whom those doctors and their families are affiliated. The company reported in an SEC filing that it has received subpoenas for the information from the HHS Office of the Inspector General. The company is also being investigated by the Department of Defense and the Army “concerning sales and marketing interactions with physicians” at an Army medical center in Tacoma, WA.
Boston Scientific’s marketing practices have been under scrutiny before. Last year, it was one of three companies investigated by the U.S. Attorney for marketing of defibrillators and pacemakers. This week, the company paid $296 million and plead guilty to charges of two misdemeanors resulting from that case.
Interestingly, at an industry conference in Washington, D.C. this week, an employee of one device company explained that his company was being asked by doctors to direct payments to “third-party entities." Would the Sunshine Act require disclosure of the ultimate recipient? Yes, he was told, it would.
Here’s the full post. Hat tip to Pharmagossip.
--Kate Petersen, PostScript blogger