“Outside payments” to pain doctors
Posted , 5 users are following.
i have recently been made aware of the website cms.gov . It lists what the government calls outside payments to doctors. I checked the NEVRO, the mfr of mu SCS, and my pain doctor. I found that in 2017 they gave them over $40,000. Then in looking at specifics they listed the value of a trip to Edinburg Great Britain as about $22. I have gone back and verified this.
Then 2018 data has not yet been released. This concerns me as the word "kickbacks" comes to mind. I suggest you go to the site and see if your doctor has received outside pauments from the manufacturer and share the data with us. Mine was already installed before I knew about this site.
0 likes, 3 replies
JRS11 Kingbuba
Posted
do you have a link?
mark69155 Kingbuba
Posted
My doctor was listed, but I knew he was conducting a trial so it doesnt surprise me. during one of my appointments he was mentoring a couple Drs from China. I think these payments are usually/often research related. I have great private pay insurance and would think if anyone was going to be concerned, they would be (since it didnt come out of my pocket - I would think insurance companies wouldnt be so quick to approve if they thought doctors were pushing SCS just so they could get kickbacks. )
I had my Nevro HF10 installed 3 months ago (lumbar pain & foot neuropathy) and have had such good results that I have scheduled a 2nd unit to be installed to cover c-spine and hand/arm neuropathy. Ive had moderate back pain relief, but the real win is neuropathy relief at night - i hadnt slept more than 2 hours at a time (without having to get up and reset) in years and now sleep all night.
its by no means a miracle...but very happy with mine.
Seafarer123 Kingbuba
Posted
For those who want to find their doctor, I believe the specific web link is "openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
I looked up my doctor and found that he does indeed take payments from a number of manufacturers. And not surprisingly, the company that makes the stimulator he implanted in me (Nevro) was at the top of the list of companies that have sent payments to him.
The amounts weren't egregious, though, and quite frankly, from the research I have done, Nevro's spinal cord stimulator does appear to be the best. And I've been moderately satisfied with it since the implantation a year ago. It hasn't removed the pain completely but it has helped me lower the amount of pain meds I previously needed to take.
Plus it also appears to be that the medical company paid my doctor to give conference lectures and reimbursed him for travel, hotel, and food. Honestly I'm happy that he meets with other doctors, goes to conferences and stays up on industry developments. If he gets some reimbursement for his time doing that (which is time away from seeing patients and earning income), I'm not that put out by it. Now if the medical company was paying him hundreds of thousands of dollars, instead of a few thousand, I might be worried, but for now I'm not...