FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2006
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ADVAMED CRITICAL OF OIG'S APPROVAL OF NEW GAINSHARING PROJECT
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AdvaMed President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl today issued a statement criticizing the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) recent decision to allow a new gainsharing project to proceed. Standardizing the medical devices used in practice is one of the cost-cutting measures proposed in the latest OIG-approved gainsharing arrangement between a hospital and a cardiac surgery group. Ubl called on the OIG to suspend approval of further gainsharing arrangements:
"The OIG should not approve further gainsharing arrangements. These arrangements have significant potential to undermine doctors’ and patients’ ability to choose the most appropriate therapy to meet their individual needs. By the OIG’s own analysis, such programs potentially violate federal law.
“Of special concern, there is no transparency in these OIG-approved programs. By law, the OIG is required to protect information about specific steps that will be taken under the approved programs. This eliminates the possibility for independent evaluation by physicians and patients of whether quality of care will in fact be protected.”
“The OIG deserves credit for establishing a number of conditions designed to protect patients. However, gainsharing arrangements that reward physicians for selecting specific treatments or technologies inevitably create perverse incentives that could undermine quality of care.”
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AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. Our members produce nearly 90 percent of the health care technology purchased annually in the United States and more than 50 percent purchased annually around the world. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies.