A very long article in the NYTimes this morning titled, Possible Conflicts for Doctors Are Seen on Medical Devices about how physicians receive payments from medical device companies to use their products. Isn’t that called payola in the recording industry?

What was most interesting to me was:

Prices paid by hospitals vary widely, yet information is so scarce that hospitals say they are often unaware if they are overpaying, and impotent to negotiate a better price. Many hospital executives say some orthopedic and cardiovascular operations, once a major profit center, have become a marginal, even money-losing, endeavor.

Which sounded to me like a business opportunity for someone until I read the following:

One large device company, Guidant, has even sued two hospital consultants because they divulged pricing information to competing hospitals.

While the conditions where physicians are hired as consultants to the medical device industry have reigned supreme, the device industry is policing itself (!) and pressure from hospitals (and eventually consumers) should result in more transparency.