Rumor has it that the DOJ is talking to/investigating Arthrex reps to determine any violations of the federal anti-kickback statute. Watch it folks!
A particular surgery center manager in the northeast told me an investigator came to his surgery center to talk with surgeons and reps. The manager didn't say much except that the investigator asked a lot of questions regarding the Arthrex jet, trips to Naples, etc. I guess he wasn't supposed to say anything.
I didn't know we had an Arthrex jet!!! So I've been sitting in coach for 10 years with a minimum of 2 lay overs to get to a course in Naples? WTF?
Right. The big dogs just get the golf and fishing in Naples, plus they go home with some funding for their 'research'.
Gee - I hope they weren't asking about "rumors" of a vacation spot in Montana that preferred customers were given access to. That would be awful if true.
Anybody looking at what happened to Wright Medical? Material breaches in their DPA. Do you really think this will never happen to Arthrex? Originally Posted by http://www.massdevice.com/news/wright-medical-shakeup-continues-with-ouster-three-more-executives Wright Medical shakeup continues with ouster of three more executives Three senior executives — Raymond Kolls, Cary Hagan and Alicia Napoli — are out as Wright Medical Group continues to cope with the fallout from an alleged kickbacks scheme. WMGI logo Just a month after a surprise shakeup at Wright Medical Group saw CEO Gary Henley abruptly resign and CTO Frank Bono fired, the company replaced three more senior executives. The Arlington, Tenn.-based maker of orthopedic devices for the foot and ankle market said in a regulatory filing that it had accepted the resignations of senior vice president, general counsel and secretary Raymond Kolls; vice president of clinical & regulatory affairs Alicia Napoli; and senior vice president for EMEA commercial operations Cary Hagan. All three executives were said to have resigned without "good reason," according to the filing. Wright also announced the end of an internal investigation by its board, aided by outside counsel, as required by its deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of N.J. Wright Medical agreed in October 2010 to pay nearly $8 million to settle charges that it ran a kickbacks scheme to drive up sales of its hip and knee implants. The feds charged Wright with using consulting gigs with physicians to funnel alleged kickbacks to the docs. The settlement (PDF) also includes a year-long probation of sorts, during which the AG agrees not to prosecute as long as Wright "satisfies its obligations," according to the release. Those obligations include making changes to its consulting arrangements with doctors. An independent monitor will keep tabs on the company during its 12-month probation. It wasn't the first concession that New Jersey feds have wrung from orthopedic device makers. Last year, four orthopedic device makers cleared federal criminal charges and a fifth "satisfactorily completed" its non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark.
Stop with the nonsense. Arthrex is just plain better than all sorry competition. I don't even call it competition. It's like shooting seals in a barrel.
Arthrex plays fast and loose with anti kickback laws and other companies patents and IP. But to their credit it's a model that has worked. Of course there are more than a few people who wouldn't mind seeing them knocked down a notch or two in the food chain.
