Mr. Hawkins said at the meeting that the majority of the money Medtronic pays to physicians is royalties for their inventions. However, he did note that “service arrangements” are necessary with physicians who offer advice and help to train other physicians on medical devices, according to the report.
According to Mr. Hawkins, Medtronic monitors the relationships between the company and physicians to avoid conflicts of interest, and the company supports legislation that would publicly disclose consulting relationships between physicians and drug and device manufacturers.
Medtronic has recently been the focus of inquiries from governmental agencies into its relationship with David Polly, MD, who failed to disclosure payments he received from the device manufacturer in Senate testimony.
Read the Star Tribune’s report about Medtronic’s defense of physician consulting relationships.
