U. of I. Doctors Under Scrutiny For Surgical Robot Ad
From the Chicago Tribune
When the makers of the da Vinci surgical robot asked University of Illinois doctors to appear in a national advertising campaign, their Chicago hospital saw an opportunity to promote its expertise with the device.
But the plan backfired.
Instead of gaining national publicity for being leaders in robotic surgery, the doctors and the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System are under scrutiny for endorsing a commercial product, a possible violation of U. of I. policy.
The Tribune also found that some doctors pictured in the ad did not initially disclose their financial ties to the company that makes the robot, Intuitive Surgical Inc., as required by the university's policies on conflicts of interest.
Intuitive selected the doctors to observe and monitor use of the device at other hospitals, work for which they were paid. The doctors disclosed that information only after the ad was published and the Tribune requested annual disclosure forms. One surgeon received about $16,000 in the most recent one-year reporting period.
For patients, the doctors' participation in the ad and the lack of transparency raise questions about whether their physicians can offer objective advice when discussing robotic surgery as compared with other options.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
When the makers of the da Vinci surgical robot asked University of Illinois doctors to appear in a national advertising campaign, their Chicago hospital saw an opportunity to promote its expertise with the device.
But the plan backfired.
Instead of gaining national publicity for being leaders in robotic surgery, the doctors and the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System are under scrutiny for endorsing a commercial product, a possible violation of U. of I. policy.
The Tribune also found that some doctors pictured in the ad did not initially disclose their financial ties to the company that makes the robot, Intuitive Surgical Inc., as required by the university's policies on conflicts of interest.
Intuitive selected the doctors to observe and monitor use of the device at other hospitals, work for which they were paid. The doctors disclosed that information only after the ad was published and the Tribune requested annual disclosure forms. One surgeon received about $16,000 in the most recent one-year reporting period.
For patients, the doctors' participation in the ad and the lack of transparency raise questions about whether their physicians can offer objective advice when discussing robotic surgery as compared with other options.
Read more in our daily News Update...