In a move that may signal an effort by the medical-device industry to stave off mandatory gift-disclosure requirements by Congress, medical-device maker Medtronic, Minneapolis, has voluntarily published all charitable contributions made to customers since May 1, according to the company’s Web site.
“These are donations that have been identified as appropriate by our various business divisions,” said Medtronic spokesman Chuck Grothaus of the company’s new online registry.
Medtronic manufactures cardiac and spinal devices as well as other technologies purchased by hospitals and physicians for use in patient care and surgeries. Grothaus said the gifting decisions are made by donation committees within the company’s various business divisions. The corporation’s rules allow marketing reps, but not sales reps, to sit on the committees. Sales reps are allowed, however, to “provide input about the suitability of a proposed” donation, according to a Medtronic written statement.
The registry, which will be published quarterly, discloses donations made to healthcare-advocacy groups, hospitals, medical schools and professional organizations to support a variety of activities, including continuing medical-education events, consumer education, hospital grand-round presentations and scholarships. The donation disclosures detail gifts made through the company’s business divisions, not the Medtronic Foundation, which also contributes to not-for-profit healthcare organizations.
“We do a great deal of funding through the foundation, so that’s a big part of our philanthropy,” Grothaus said. “This is just another part that enables our giving. Our Spinal and Biologics business, for example, has a desire and need to contribute to institutions in its community.”
While a number of ethics experts view Medtronic’s disclosure plan favorably, some question whether the effort does a good enough job of explaining the vendor’s role in determining how the money is used. Among the activities funded, for example, were continuing medical-education seminars held by organizations such as the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and orthopedic grand rounds and cardiology grand rounds conducted at Baylor College of Medicine and 534-bed Boston Medical Center, respectively.
“You can’t tell from the donor list exactly what (activities) happened, so that’s part of the concern here,” said Dave Davis, senior director of continuing medical education and performance improvement for the Association of American Medical Colleges. “It’s partial disclosure and not full disclosure. Was the money used, for example, to fly in one of the company’s speakers? My guess is no, but we can’t be sure.”
Other industry watchers expressed greater skepticism, saying Medtronic’s disclosure highlights the still deeply entrenched practice of vendors gifting to bolster their sales influence. “Their gifting follows areas of their financial interests,” said David Rothman, president of the Institute on Medicine as a Profession.
