How sales reps infiltrated operating theatres

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There are strict rules around how drug company representatives can interact with doctors to ensure they aren’t influencing how medications are prescribed.

But when it comes to expensive medical devices inserted in our bodies during surgery – all sorts of screws, pacemakers and implants – those same rules don’t apply.

Medical device sales reps are scrubbed up and working in the operating theatre, even advising surgeons on which products to use.

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on whether the pursuit of profit risks driving clinical decisions.

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Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe