The ECRI Institute, a not-for-profit healthcare market-research firm in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and devicemaker Boston Scientific Corp., Natick, Mass., have agreed to settle a lawsuit over whether ECRI could continue publishing pricing information on Boston Scientific products.
Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, but ECRI will continue to include Boston Scientific devices in its annual price-benchmarking survey, PriceGuide, according to ECRI President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Lerner. “We can’t disclose the details as it is a confidential settlement, but we will continue to publish our guide while respecting the confidential contracts between hospitals and suppliers,” Lerner said.
The ECRI guide publishes pricing information on medical products from about 400 hospitals that volunteer the data. Hospital materials managers use the information to compare prices and negotiate rates with suppliers. Boston Scientific subsidiary Guidant Corp. previously requested that its pricing information be removed from the guide, saying disclosure violated confidential pricing agreements between hospitals and their company. The request prompted ECRI to file a lawsuit with the Pennsylvania Federal District Court in May 2006, asking for the right to continue publishing. Boston Scientific countersued requesting a ban on the practice. -- by Shawn Rhea
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