Medical device companies are paying millions of pounds to hospitals in the UK to fund staff places, as well as training and awareness campaigns, while pushing sales of their products, including implants, heart valves and diagnostic equipment, a new report reveals.
There are concerns that payments from pharmaceutical and medical companies to health organisations can influence clinical decisions to use certain drugs and products.The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has published a database called Disclosure UK since 2016 under which drugs companies disclose payments to healthcare organisations and individuals. It does not include payments by medical device companies.
In the UK, Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures products including hip implants and surgical robotics, has made “educational” payments to several hospital trusts, including Guy’s and St Thomas’foundation trust, Barts Health NHS trust and South Tees hospitals NHS foundation trust. The US company Edwards Lifesciences, which makes heart valves, has made payments to at least five NHS hospital trusts.
Evans added that under the ABHI code of practice, all transactions between a company and a healthcare professional were reported to the NHS employer.