According to a January 17, 2012 article published in the New York Times, under the new health care law, if a company has just one product covered by Medicare or Medicaid, it will have to report all payments made to doctors other than its own employees. The payment information will be posted by the federal government on a website where it will be available to the public. The purpose of this new law will allow patients to make informed decisions when choosing health care professionals and making treatment decisions. The new law would also prevent potential conflicts of interest between doctors and drug makers.
DePuy ASR Hip Recall Fallout Illustrates Need For New Legislation
In 2007, DePuy agreed to pay $84.7 million in fines to settle criminal charges, alleging that the company paid kickbacks to doctors who used their hips and knees.** In the aftermath of that settlement, DePuy agreed to publicly disclose payments made to doctors. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, one orthopedic surgeon who helped design the ASR hip replacements was paid more than $3 million “in royalty income for intellectual property and/or product development” in 2009 and 2010; another doctor compensated by DePuy was paid $552,000 for similar services. In addition to receiving payments for product development, these doctors frequented DePuy meetings in support of the ASR products and actively promoted them to their peers. During these meetings, attendees raised issues regarding the high failure rate of the ASR hips, the metal debris generated by the ASR hips, and severe complications caused artificial hip implants. In response, the handsomely compensated doctors assured other orthopedic surgeons that the ASR implants were not only safe, but the best artificial hips available on the market. Thus, other orthopedic surgeons attending these conferences, who were not receiving compensation from DePuy, were often victims of these practices as well.
In August 2010, DePuy Orthopeadics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, issued a voluntary worldwide hip replacement recall of its ASR hip implant systems, after receiving data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales that 1 out of every 8 patients (12%-13%) who received the ASR hip implants had to undergo revision surgery within five years of implant.*** The recall affected approximately 37,000 Americans.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP Partner Felecia L. Stern commented, “Many of our clients ask if there is some way of determining whether their doctor received payments from DePuy for recommending the ASR hip implant. This new law will help patients received the full information they deserve.”
According to the New York Times, at least 3,500 hip replacement lawsuits have been filed over the hip implants that were subject to the ASR hip recall.**** The lawyers at Bernstein Liebhard LLP are actively filing cases on behalf of individuals allegedly injured by the artificial ASR metal-on-metal hip implants in In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (“MDL No. 2197”).
Since Johnson & Johnson issued its hip replacement recall 2010, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has provided a wealth of consumer information concerning the ASR hip systems on its website, http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com. If you or a loved one received a DePuy ASR hip implant during hip surgery and have experienced hip replacement pain or had to undergo revision surgery, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other injuries.
