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Abbott Labs VP Suggests Having Mob Beat Up Columnist Who Exposed Shady Dealings
from the after-that,-he-might-need-a-heart-stent dept
There's a rather incredible story over in the Baltimore Sun about the extent Abbott Laboratories' execs went to in their effort to sell more of their heart stents. This is not a unique story, but every time I see a similar story, it serves as a reminder of the problems of putting "healthcare" in the hands of companies who have every incentive to sell you snake oil -- especially when that snake oil is patented and they can charge ridiculous monopoly rents for it.
The story involves a heart stent sold by Abbott. Apparently, Abbott cultivated a few doctors and plied them with all sorts of... well... most people would probably refer to them as bribes... to implant more stents. The article focuses on one Dr. Mark Midei, who "set a record" by implanting 30 stents in one day. That would be great if those stents saved lives. Problem is... a study earlier this year showed that stents were no better than drugs for many patients. Now, in some cases, they can certainly be helpful, but there was little indication that Midei made much of an effort to see if the over 2,000 stents he was implanting per year were really necessary. Perhaps this is why:
So when all this started coming out in the press, Abbott responded with some (one hopes, joking) emails about how they should go beat up the Baltimore Sun columnist who was reporting on the issue.
The story involves a heart stent sold by Abbott. Apparently, Abbott cultivated a few doctors and plied them with all sorts of... well... most people would probably refer to them as bribes... to implant more stents. The article focuses on one Dr. Mark Midei, who "set a record" by implanting 30 stents in one day. That would be great if those stents saved lives. Problem is... a study earlier this year showed that stents were no better than drugs for many patients. Now, in some cases, they can certainly be helpful, but there was little indication that Midei made much of an effort to see if the over 2,000 stents he was implanting per year were really necessary. Perhaps this is why:
Abbott feted Midei at Ruth's Chris Steak House. It paid $1,235 for an " Alabama Pig Pickin'" barbecue at his Monkton home two days after the 30-stent marathon. A month earlier it paid $690 for beer and crabs served during a meeting at his house to discuss Abbott's "business strategy."Also, that 30 implants in one day was referred to as "Project Victory" within Abbott, and it was talked about how the company should continue to do more for Midei, such as "VIP trips." Oh, on top of that, after it came out that many of those stents never should have been installed, Abbott rewarded Midei by hiring him as a "consultant" to tell the world how wonderful Abbott's stents were.
So when all this started coming out in the press, Abbott responded with some (one hopes, joking) emails about how they should go beat up the Baltimore Sun columnist who was reporting on the issue.
"Don't you have connections in Baltimore?????" Pacitti e-mailed a subordinate regarding a January column I wrote on heart-artery stents. "Someone needs to take this writer outside and kick his ass! Do I need to send in the Philly mob?"Again, one hopes he's joking, but it again demonstrates the problems with letting these kinds of companies define healthcare in the US. I'm not against the ability to profit in healthcare, but shouldn't the profit be about actually keeping people healthy?
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Re: For-profit healthcare.
(You f*cking coward.)
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If people committed illegal acts, they should be prosecuted.
Just because Abbott VP did this, does not mean that all business people would partake in such nefarious dealings.
Attack the bad people, not the "capitalist market"
Having Government run health care will not fix this problem, be careful what you wish for.
If the Government ran our healthcare, then the Abbott VP would be bribing the Government regulators/politicians, not the doctors.
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Broken
This is a very sick industry in this country. You can't fault the practitioners -- not with the money that pharma throws around DC to protect their interests (and keep it our of the press).
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You want them running our healthcare? Really?
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It is like car travel. You never see a headline like "1 million people got home safely last night", but you do get "Two hurt is horrible collision". It is easy to highlight the failures, but there is way more successful outcomes every day.
I think it would make the problems seem minor, but that wouldn't be good for writing a nagging blog, now would it?
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It's broader than he suggests, and I think people should be aware of how they think, so they can correct themselves. So please, read up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Availability_heuristic
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Oh, that's right, they're too busy fabricating terrorists that they can then catch. Going after real threats, especially those conducted by the big corporations that control the govt? Not a priority.
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You ain't seen nothing yet..
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Re: You ain't seen nothing yet..
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This might matter.
Though some laws might have been broken with regard to medical necessity and reimbursements from Medicare/Medicaid.
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naivete
Instead we will have a health care gestapo, akin to the TSA, enforcing the goverment's will on the little people, while the elite gets more and pays less than now.
I'll say it again, to insure you understand: You are a fool to believe what you do.
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How often does more profit benefit anyone other than those profiting? More competition yes...but usually competition makes profit more challenging.
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Technicality
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Lame
Sad.
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Yes, it was a stupid email, probably a joke, and I can kind of understand that.
The real outrage should be directed at the doctor. As a human, I don't expect Pfizer to look out for my well being. I do expect my doctor to only be concerned with my health.
Maybe that is the problem, we have forgotten that doctors are in business also.
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Re: Re: For-profit healthcare.
all things in balance, i guess.
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Heh, you sir, owe me a new monitor. My current one has coffee all over it! If only it were true.
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capitalism = economics. is opposed to various other economic systems.
plutocracy = who rules. chiefly as opposed to an aristocracy. admittedly does tend to mean 'rule by the wealthy'. all but inevitable in any representative democracy, as campaigns are expensive.
they are not mutually exclusive.
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'there you go again'
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as oxy is my copilot,
i couldn't make this up folks...
without this oxy.
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which could be true of Abbott & Costello Labs!
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'does not mean that all business people would partake in such nefarious dealings'
This kind of 'borderline' ethics is actually normal. Every once in a while a sacrificial Enron walks the plank. While the others 'compete' on.
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