Orthopedists' Financial Conflicts Can Hurt Patients, Surgeon Says (MedPage Today)
It's financially compelling for doctors to do things that don't help patients.
Financial conflicts of interest often drive physicians to perform worthless surgeries, but the field of orthopedics "is one of the worst offenders," says an Indiana orthopedist who has launched a "moral persuasion" campaign to convince his colleagues to stop.
"It's really hard for doctors to acknowledge this and change their ways," says James Rickert, MD, who years ago founded the Society for Patient Centered Orthopedic Surgery to addr...
