Doctors Should Reveal Conflicts of Interest — Lawyer is Skeptical of Federal Corruption Claims

By Daniel Connolly

A health care attorney said doctors’ offices may want to give patients a form that discloses physicians’ links to companies, but said he doubts the federal government’s claims that payments from firms are corrupting doctors.

Richard E. Duerr Jr. told a group of doctors’ office managers Thursday that federal investigations have focused attention on potential conflicts of interest caused by payments to doctors from medical device companies and other health care companies.

He said the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and other groups have suggested doctors should inform patients about industry links and doctors’ offices may want to follow the advice.

Duerr was one of three attorneys from the firm Evans & Petree who spoke about health care law at a lunch meeting of the Mid-South Medical Group Management Association at the Racquet Club in East Memphis Thursday.

The issue of payments to doctors has been in the news lately because of federal investigations of companies like medical device maker Medtronic, which in 2006 paid $40 million to settle allegations that it had paid kickbacks to influence spine surgeons to use its products. The firm admitted no wrongdoing.

Duerr, who formerly worked as general counsel for Sofamor-Danek, the Memphis spine surgery device company that Minneapolis-based Medtronic later purchased, said he’s skeptical of the government’s claim that money from medical device companies and other industry players could influence doctors to make medical decisions that aren’t in patients’ best interests.

“These sort of things, I don’t believe,” he said.

Settlements of other investigations last year forced several orthopedic medical device firms to publish all their payments to doctors, and a bill pending in Congress would make such mandatory for more companies, he said.

Duerr also advised the managers in attendance to be careful in drafting research agreements with big companies. Doctors may be able to hold on to some of the profits from any intellectual property developed, he said.

Methods for avoiding investigators’ wrath also played into a talk by Brad Foster, another attorney. He told audience members they should be aware of the Stark law, which prevents doctors from steering business to entities that they or people close to them control. He urged audience members to review contracts and to avoid agreements that look like sweetheart deals.

– Daniel Connolly: 529-5296

Originally published by Daniel Connolly daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com .

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