Medtronic Inc. on Tuesday became the largest medical technology company in the country to announce that it will voluntarily reveal how much it pays doctors in consulting fees.
But disclosure of these often-controversial fees on Medtronic's website won't occur until March 2011, covering payments for 2010. Payments made in previous years will not be included.
Critics have charged that such payments -- some of which amount to thousands of dollars -- can influence doctors' practice decisions and are designed to win brand loyalty.
The Fridley-based company says the consulting agreements typically involve education and training for doctors, royalties for inventions, clinical trial design and advice on improving the design and safety of products.
"Through greater transparency about the nature of these relationships, we will help people better understand how important they are to developing life-saving and enhancing products for patients," Medtronic CEO Bill Hawkins said in a statement.
The company's alleged largess involving gifts, trips and lucrative payments to doctors, particularly those who work with its spine business, have been detailed in several whistle-blower lawsuits.
Industry payments are also the subject of a congressional investigation. U.S. senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., recently introduced a bill, supported by Medtronic, that would require drug and device manufacturers to report payments to physicians. If it passes, payments over $100 would be posted on a government website.
Medtronic and other med-tech companies have long maintained that their relationship with doctors differs greatly from those employed by the drug industry. Often doctors need training on new devices, or their input is needed to improve products.
