Heart docs dismiss bias claims stemming from industry support of meeting

ProPublica: Heart Docs Reject Claims Of Bias From Industry Money
Doctors said the heart society meeting was an important opportunity to learn about new research in their field and see new products on the market. Unlike in many other areas of medicine, they said, electrophysiologists work hand-in-hand with device company representatives to program implantable defibrillators and diagnose problems. Device company employees are in the operating room during procedures and come to the hospital to respond if a patient's defibrillator delivers a shock. ... Doctors said they were unconcerned by ProPublica's finding that the society, on several occasions, left out or downplayed information about the risks and limitations of cardiac devices and procedures. ... One society member who was not at the conference praised the Heart Rhythm Society on his blog for posting details of the money it receives from industry on its website so the public and media can examine it. Many professional groups don't offer such detailed information (Ornstein, 5/9).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.