UMC responds to NYT: Docs not required to disclose relationships with vendors when contract approved

Monday, April 4, 2011 | 2:49 p.m.

The UMC statement comes more than 24 hours after The New York Times posted a story on how Biotronik has cornered the market on heart implant devices at UMC. The statement says other hospitals use the company's local agents and that the policy for financial disclosure was implemented in September, well after the contract was approved. Oh, and it's a cost-effective contract that saves lives.

Statement below:

STATEMENT FROM UMC CEO KATHY SILVER REGARDING THE APRIL 3, 2011 NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ON HEART DEVICE MANUFACTURER BIOTRONIK AND NEVADA HEART AND VASCULAR

At UMC, patient safety is the top consideration in every decision we make. We rely on our cardiologists, many of whom are the top professionals in their field, to use medical devices which they feel are the best and most reliable.

Unlike with other cardiac devices, UMC has never had a product recall of the Biotronik device and results to-date show significantly improved outcomes for our cardiac patients who receive them. Most importantly, since our partnership with Nevada Heart and Vascular, UMC has received several notable accolades, including a Gold Plus Award and Double Gold Awards from the American Heart Association (AHA). Those awards are based directly on such outcomes and UMC is the only hospital in Nevada to receive such high praise from the AHA.

UMC also takes its financial responsibilities seriously. The hospital’s contract with Nevada Heart and Vascular provides for a distinct level of quality care for our patients, at a very reasonable cost to us. Additionally, with the inclusion of new pricing agreements with all four vendors, including Biotronik, we have been able to reduce costs for cardiac implants by approximately $1.1 M every year.

The rules and regulations of the UMC medical staff require that physicians disclose any financial relationship with a vendor. This policy was implemented in September, 2010 and is reviewed with all physicians at the time of medical staff reappointment. The four cardiologists specifically mentioned in the New York Times article have not yet come up for reappointment and therefore have not been reviewed relative to the financial disclosure policy.

We believe our mention in the recent New York Times article was due to the large volume of cardiac procedures performed at UMC utilizing the Biotronik device. As is the case with most physician groups in Southern Nevada, we are one of many hospital providers in the Valley where Nevada Heart and Vascular practices, preferentially using Biotronik devices, and upon whom we rely for the provision of quality cardiac care.