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Published on: 9/9/2008
Last Visited: 9/9/2008
Dr. Charles Burton, a St. Paul neurosurgeon and spine specialist, remembers surveying the glittering scene at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons with dismay.It had the aura, he recalled, of a consumer electronics show.
Despite the high-profile lawsuits and ongoing government investigations, there was little discussion about the growing controversy over the consulting fees medical device companies pay surgeons, Burton said.As the vice president of the Association for Ethics in Spine Surgery, he thinks the time has come for his profession to elevate the debate over the practice.
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Burton was an early member of the spine ethics group.He hopes all the attention on the spine industry will bring about a "return to an understanding of what doing the right thing for the patient is really all about."