-How Common Are Kickbacks Between Medical Professionals and Medical Device Producers?-

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Reports from New York state that the medical device maker Stryker “will pay about $80 million to end a federal investigation into its acquisition of a company that the U.S. said was marketing a product that hadn’t been approved by regulators.” Stryker said that the Justice Department “acknowledged that the sales occurred before Stryker bought OtisMed in 2009, and that it was unaware of those sales.” Stryker “first revealed the federal investigation in 2010 and set aside $80 million to cover any future settlement.” 
        Bloomberg News reports that OtisMed “will pay a fine of $34.4 million and forfeit $5.16 million in a criminal case, while paying a civil fine of $41.2 million.” 

It's funny that is just about the same amount as they had saved up!!

The firm pleaded guilty in a Newark, NJ Federal court “where former Chief Executive Officer Charlie Chi also pleaded guilty.” The company “admitted it never obtained U.S.
Food and Drug Administration approval to sell 18,000 custom-built devices used by surgeons, from 2006 to 2009 to make accurate bone cuts to implant prosthetic knees.” OtisMed “applied for FDA approval in October 2008, and the agency said 13 months later the company hadn’t shown it was safe and effective.” Chi “then shipped 218 devices to surgeons, overruling his advisers and board and with disregard of consumer safety."

Pharmaceutical- and device-makers paid doctors roughly $380 million in speaking and consulting fees, with some doctors reaping more than half a million dollars each, during a five-month period in 2013,according to an analysis of federal data released. Other doctors made millions of dollars in royalties from products they helped develop.

This is a real example of why, we as consumers


really need to follow our instincts if we feel something is


wrong the medical field is trained, but they also love to get


kickbacks.