More Conflicts of Interest–Zimmer Holdings and Dr. Berger

After receiving 8 million dollars from Zimmer Holdings an orthopedic implant maker guess whose devices Dr. Berger recommended–until they began to fall apart in patient’s bodies.

For years, Dr. Richard A. Berger designed surgical tools and artificial joints for Zimmer Holdings, trained hundreds of doctors to use its products and talked it up wherever he went. In return, Zimmer, an orthopedic implant maker, helped enrich Dr. Berger, portraying him as a master surgeon and paying him more than $8 million over a decade.

Amid the booming use of artificial joints in the United States, the breakup between Dr. Berger and Zimmer highlights what experts say is a troubling situation for patients and doctors: when disputes arise about orthopedic implant safety, there are no independent referees or sources of information because no one tracks the performance of the devices.

Medicynical Note: This is not just the appearance of a conflict of interest. Patients are a nuisance to these guys, simply a means to huge earnings. Quality of care? Value? Ethics? Guess who pays?