BUSINESS BRIEFING / HEALTHCARE
Times Wire Reports
After years of pressure, medical device maker Medtronic Inc. will begin disclosing how much money it gives physicians in consulting and other payments, though the reporting threshold is far higher than currently proposed legislation.
The move comes months after two U.S. senators asked the company to disclose more about its consulting arrangements with physicians and cited earlier allegations that the company paid surgeons to boost spinal implant sales.
Medtronic said it would begin annual disclosures in March 2011. Eli Lilly & Co. and Pfizer Inc. have already volunteered to publish such information.
