U.S. Senator questions partnership between cardiologists, medical devicemaker-backed group

Expect to see a lot more stories like this in one in coming months, folks, as it's become extremely popular to challenge medical devicemaker and pharmaceutical financing of, well, anything that doesn't involve their internal operations. This time, the American College of Cardiology has come under the spotlight, with a U.S. Senator questioning whether the sponsor's connections with the medical devicemakers presents a conflict of interest. 

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) has sent a letter out asking the American College of Cardiology to share information on the group's new partnership with the non-profit Cardiovascular Research Foundation. The foundation is co-sponsoring a special summit at the annual ACC convention focused on interventional cardiology. What seemingly concerns Kohl is the fact that the CRF gets funding from several medical device manufacturers, including Medtronic and Boston Scientific Corp.

Such companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on doctors for gifts, contracts and event sponsorships, and relationships that can compromise the recipient's judgment, he suggests. Kohl has cosponsored legislation that would require drug and medical device companies to post payments to doctors on a government website, including consulting fees, entertainment and travel funding, continuing medical education and participation in conferences.

To learn more about Kohl's inquiry:
- read this Minneapolis Star-Tribune piece

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