Pierre is a representative with a company that manufactures devices for use in joint-replacement surgeries. He is often present in surgeries when his company’s products are being used. Recently, as a patient was being wheeled into the operating suite the patient asked the surgeon who Pierre was and why he was there. The nurse explained that Pierre was a with a device manufacturer and was there to provide support if needed. The patient then asked, “But isn’t that a conflict of interest?”
Is there a conflict of interest? How should the nurse respond to the patient? And what should the hospital include in a policy designed to address these types of situations?
Resources:
- De Gruyter Open. “Conflicts of interest in surgical research: More transparency needed, study finds: Hidden conflicts of interest can distort study results and endanger trust in medical research.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 April 2016. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160426101309.htm
- Bonnie O’Connor, Fran Pollner, Adriane Fugh-Berman.2016. Salespeople in the Surgical Suite: Relationships between Surgeons and Medical Device Representatives. Plos one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158510.
- Mikkael A. Sekeres. 2016. When Doctors Have Conflicts of Interest. New York Time; Well. Published June 29, 2016. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/when-doctors-have-conflicts-of-interest/
- Fabrice Smieliauskas. 2016. Conflict of Interest in Medical Technology Markets. Health Economics; 25: 723-739. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hec.3177
