Pacemaker 'sales reps' present at heart surgeries, health insurer boss says
The ABC reports: Surgeons are performing heart procedures, such as pacemaker implants, with the help of health technicians who are employed by the device manufacturers and have sales targets, industry insiders have claimed.
More whistleblowers from within the medical-device industry have come forward with concerns about the practices of device makers following an ABC investigation into secret payments linked to pacemaker purchases at private hospitals.
Dr Dwayne Crombie, general manager of Australia's largest health insurer, Bupa, has confirmed reports manufacturer-linked technicians with sales-based incentives are being used in theatres.
He said some of these individuals were technicians and some were "more at the sales rep end", and could be in a position to influence specialists' choices.
"We're told that many of those reps are almost incentivised on commission basis to get their products sold," Dr Crombie said.
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