Two recent pieces of news on the pharmaceutical and medical device industry:
First, the heavy:
Yesterday, Courthouse News reported that Dr. David Gossman from Leahy Clinic was alleging he was fired for speaking up about ethical concerns.
According to Dr. Gossman, a few doctors at the hospital had worked out an ‘arrangement’ with Medtronic, the worlds largest medical technology company. This arrangement involved the hospital getting access to cutting edge technology so long as they purchased a high enough volume of other devices sold by Medtronic. Additionally, one of these doctors participated in the Medtronics Speaker’s Bureau, using Medtronics information to explain the devices to their peers. Of note, the wife of that same doctor works for Medtronics and owns stock in the company.
Dr. Gossman says that he raised concerns about the ethical boundaries surrounding the purchase of Medtronics devices and soon thereafter was fired. He is seeking damages for defamation and violations of the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act.
We applaud Dr. Gossman for standing up for his convictions and shedding light on a potentially inappropriate industry-provider relationship. Our recently implemented gifts ban and disclosure law provides protections for people like Dr. Gossman, who believe there was an inappropriate interaction. We hope other doctors are not deterred from voicing their concerns about industry interactions.
Second, the light:
– Georgia Maheras
