Thursday, April 11, 2013

'Cause the Heat Is On!

On April 9th, 2013 it was reported by TSB's favorite Spine Journalist, John Carreyou that Federal Agents are looking into fraud allegations at companies owned by Michael D. Drobot.  The obvious facility that comes to mind is Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, a 184 bed facility that has had a reputation well known within the SoCal spine community. Though the affidavit to search and seize were sealed, most of you that have sold in this area can embellish on your own experiences with Pacific. In addition to Pacific, Federal Agents also served search warrants on a company named Industrial Pharmacy Management, LLC, a Newport based company that dispenses medications to patients in doctors offices.  TSB must admit, when it comes to creative business models, we are sure that the Golden Gate State outshine the Volunteer State, Texas, Alabama, Florida or that bastion of culture and panache, Mississippi.

Entertaining?  Well, as TSB likes to say, "the show is just beginning."  A spokesperson at the hospital immediately responded to these "misunderstandings," and the parties involved intend on working with authorities to resolve these issues.  The reaction in the WSJ by a few of its readers is indicative of the negative climate that the public exhibits when it comes to government intervention regarding allegations of healthcare fraud.  The general public should be outraged. With the exception of those surgeons or businessmen wives whom will rail about how hard their husbands work to support a lavish lifestyle at the cost of the American Healthcare System and the public, we should demand that business models that increase the cost of delivering healthcare in an already out-of-control healthcare environment, that are bilking Medicare out of billions of dollars be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  

TSB is willing to debate what constitutes a "self-inducement"with anyone involved in a POD, POC, Physician Owned Hospital.  But who wants to have a debate?  With the U.S. Postal Service and Department of Defense, and California Labor and Insurance Departments involved, you know what TSB says, "where there's smoke there's fire."

"The heat is on, on the street
Inside your head, on every beat
And the beat's so loud, deep inside
The pressure's high, to stay alive
Cause the heat is on."


335 comments:

  1. Word is the Feds are looking at the spine surgeons involved with Industrial Pharmacy Management and it's creative way to pay surgeons for using Lanx

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  2. How much are these surgeons getting paid for being part of a POD? It must be 50k plus per year with the associated risk. Hopefully this will lead to some cleansing of the DFW marketplace....

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  3. you mean 50K a quarter! To do it for an extra 50K a year is not worth the risk. Some of these POD surgeons are raking in 200K to 500K extra a year.

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  4. This isn't about PODs. It is about Drobots allegedly unlawful business practices. He owns/controls all hardware, DME, pricing, medications, the hospital, etc. That is why he is being investigated - and of course half a billion dollars in spine surgery in 9 years may have something to do with it.

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    1. Word is drobot Jr is trying to blame all of this on his father laughable he is in this up to his eyeballs

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  5. This is just the beginning of what is to come. All of these agencies would not have shown up just for one 184 bed hospital in So Cal. They have more on their agenda and will be visiting many more hospitals. POD investors be ware. Time to dump the POD or spend time in Prison. Loss of license is no longer enough. Jail time will curtail the abuse and pronto.

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  6. Drobot created a business model where he stocked spinal implants without representation. He bought implants from Alphatec, Integra, TranS1, Lanx and many others at a low price then marked them up as hospitals do and profited from the payors. He hired various surgeons on a per diem basis and paid them on a per diem basis. His patients were mainly workers comp. I'm not convinced this was a POD but a POC instead and that he'll go down for fraudulent billing of Medicare and Worker's Comp.

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  7. http://m.newsok.com/tulsa-surgeon-to-face-oklahoma-medical-board-after-three-years-of-waiting/article/3726958

    Ask the question: what SAB was this doc on?

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  8. "Ask the question: what SAB was this doc on?"

    So what's the answer?

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    1. http://les-society.org/faculty.html

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    2. Never heard of it. What is the significance of this group? Any corporate connection?

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    3. He is SAB with SpineFrontier. LES is their "society" with a whole 2 members.

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  9. What is going on with the layoffs at Medtronic?

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  10. 50k a month to a surgeon in Chicago try...

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  11. Half a BILLION dollars. Almost entirely workers comp... WE pay. I wonder how many surgeries had proper indications. Then, we pay for the 2nd and 3rd surgery because its the way they keep feeding the system. Then we pay full-time disability. We pay for additional markup throughout. I can't imagine how much more this has cost us, taxpayers. No wonder CA is fiscally broken. And, this is not even touching the patient care aspect. Furious.

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    1. Its workers comp. That is paid by the company they work for or the company's insurance, not by government with taxpayer money. It is the non-workers comp, Medicare patients the OIG is looking at. I'm guessing they didn't do any Medicaid work at this hospital. FBI may be looking for more.

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    2. This is common practice at many hospitals. Medicare is more vigilant when it comes to catching fraud.

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    3. What?? Medicare is the worst at catching fraud. Way more Medicare fraud than with private insurance. I'm just not sure why WC hasn't caught on yet

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  12. whats going on with depuy consultants? dime a dozen?

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  13. What about Brent and Trent? Enquiring minds want to know!

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  14. How about Kyle, the feds need to tighen that boys sphincter

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  15. It seems, in general, that workers comp pays way more than any insurance. Why is that and why haven't they learned to negotiate?

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  16. Anyone know what spine products he was using?

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  17. Many docs must be shitting their pants right now

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  18. Why is that exactly? Unless they're involved in work comp fraud, I don't see anything here to make docs worry. This is about a crooked hospital CEO overbilling comp. Wishful corporate reps on this blog would like to make this about surgeons and PODs, but that isn't the case here.

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    1. What if the "per diem" rates were way out of line with typical reimbursements. What if those surgeons had some other financial interest in the hospital or pharmacy. I find it HIGHLY unlikely that Drobot just was so good at selling to Work Comp case managers that he was able to recruit that many patients, have doctors willing to work on a per diem and use the implants that Drobot sold to his own hospital. Pure speculation on my part, but some surgeons had to have some skin in the game to go along with this arrangement. My guess is there was some workers comp involvement too. Otherwise they would never pay that much for simple degen fusions.
      If definitely doesn't sound like a typical POD, but a much more creative and possibly sinister one. The chips will fall and we can all pass judgement then. If docs were involved, the penalties will be far less because even in these arrangements, juries and regulators still think docs are pillars of society. Right Dr. Steinmann?

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    2. My guess is, they will find payments to physicians in the pharmacy bucket. No proof, just a hunch.

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    3. @ 1:54. You're absolutely correct that (surgeons and PODs) are not the case here. The case is similar in nature, however. A few greedy people, be it hospital admin, MDs, reps, company execs, take advantage of the system for personal gain. In doing so, they cause harm to others, be it physical or fiscal. In the small sample of my area, these "few" are very often connected to PODs, and I'm sure this would hold true across the nation. This is absolutely a generalization: there are surgeons doing good, honest work who are also connected to a POD. There are a lot of crooks too.

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  19. Wishful reps? Recently attending a meeting and young doc walks up to vendor and wants to know if they will sell to POD. Rationale was "I can mark it up and make hospital buy from my company." Brazen? Ballsy? Don't hear OTW and Orthoworld humming.

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    1. Good for him. He takes all the liability anyway, so he should earn some compensation. Risk = reward. A concept which is lost on corporate reps, who risk nothing but demand everything. He just needs a good atty to vet his model. The recent OIG letter is a great guide.

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    2. How, exactly, does he take all the liability away? What about the liability he creates for himself with incentivizing himself to overutilize procedures and implants to generate more markup or as we like like to call it, "kickback". The fact that he said he could mark it up (confirming financial incetive) and "make" his hospital buy it (confirming that he is leveraging inpatient referrals in exchange for paying him the kickback) makes him guilty no matter what his attorney says. The atty can write it up however he wants to make it look kosher, but this doc has already run afoul of the anti kickback statute by his actions

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  20. Now there's a logically argument. "He takes all the liability anyway." Slightly flawed? You justify potential criminal behavior by risk = reward. Could this be construed as a self-inducement? If someone has a vested interested in increasing ones earnings, does this obfuscate their clinical decision making process? Is there a conflict of interest? How many surgeries we seen where other surgeon peers have shook their heads and asked, why? Maybe that is why we are at a crossroad in healthcare, let alone our society. We justify our behavior by rationalizing that if we make money, it is alright how we do it. Rules? What rules? But then, if you use the word "risk" aren't you alluding to someone putting themselves in danger, in danger of potentially breaking the law? Considering how you docs are always complaining about tort reform, interestingly you always seeks the help of some shyster lawyer and MSM doesn't need to define what that means. What the OIG, the U.S. Postal Service and the FBI need to do is go after the CEO's, the POD's, and POC's and finally throw someone of visibility in jail. Stop with the bullshit. The government needs to stop behaving like a paper lion and throw some of these people in jail.

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    1. Exactly. Jail time is the only deterrent that will change the behavior of these egregious docs. Just the loss of the "investment" into the POD is not enough. We have seen repeat offenders continue their aberrant behavior time after time. The State Medical Board makes a doc take a billing course when he should be in jail. What punishment is that? Taking no legal action against the offenders does nothing but encouraging these titanomaniacs. JAIL time. That will make a huge statement. I see it coming. Watch out!!!

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    2. Maybe with all the docs in jail, the reps can just do the surgery since they are so smart and ethical. When Medtronic lays you off when they go direct to hospital, you will be begging your local POD for a job. Or perhaps selling the fine products of Amway.

      What is more likely - surgeon in jail or rep unemployed? Well one is already happening a lot, and one isn't. The fact is the rep is expendable and the doc isn't. There is a reason docs rarely even get disciplined, let alone get locked up. Losing an orthopedic or neurosurgeon is a loss to the community. Unless they are dangerous, they will be given a second and third chance. Loss of a rep, who cares.

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    3. Total hyperbole

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    4. 10:40's comments, that is.

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    5. Loss to the community? Good thing most docs are not involved in illegal kickback schemes... they will continue to do the surgery, and they will do it well. The communities that are left w/o a surgeon will be better off when a young, ambitious, and HONEST surgeon comes to town... If the market is there, I can assure you there will be a good surgeon to follow.

      As for reps, the good ones will land on their feet in any other industry where sales reps hold a high value... there currently are, and always will, remain enormous earnings potential for a great salesperson.

      As for your POD model that we will "beg" for a job? I don't think so. We won't lower our standards. If a product is truly a commodity, where there is no qualitative differentiation, then the market should set the price. The savings should be passed on to hospitals, then insurance companies, then patients, then to the masses. Surgeons SHOULD NOT be profiting.

      I am well aware that my long run is nearing its end... there is no fear of what lies ahead. No fear that I have to tell my kids... "I don't really SELL products, I arrange deals that pay people, illegally, to use inferior products to treat patients."

      "Loss of rep, who cares?" When the time is right, I will gladly accept this and move on.

      It sounds like you already sold out. What will you do?

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    6. Well said and I couldn't agree more. If you can sell you will always have a well paying job.

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  21. POD in San Diego "sold" to their coverage rep. I am sure the surgeons are no longer getting paid and the coverage rep paid a fair price for the business.

    The coverage rep will end up with fines and possible jail and the surgeons will get a slap on the wrist.

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  22. The long arm of Paul Randall falls not far from the tree. Bet he turned over every physician and attorney and drobot as part of a plea deal.

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  23. Will he wear his wig when he testifies?

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  24. Umm is Paul's sewn on Wig still in business?

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    1. I've known Randall since high school that's not a wig and he hasn't accepted aeneny deal he's been telling drobot since day1 not to sue Berkshire but drobot did anyway this is all about bill Reynolds and his 3 year investigation of drobot

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    2. Did you know Mr. Randall when he went to jail for racketeering?

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    3. Yes have known him since high school he got two months I think shortest racketeering stint in history

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    4. Must be a stand up guy then.
      Glowing endorsement!
      Where do I send the check?

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    5. Send it to your legal fund you're prob next

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    6. According to the WSJ article featuring Mr. Randall there are charges pending against him. It is amazing that a guy who already spent time in prison is back doing something the government found questionable. I guess a Zebra can't change its stripes.

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    7. No u read the article wrong they haven't charged him with anything wishful thinking on your part

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    8. The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles has investigated Mr. Randall's practices. By last August, federal prosecutors had prepared a charge that, if filed in court, would accuse him of conspiring to inflate the cost of spinal-surgery hardware and use part of the proceeds to pay kickbacks to doctors to refer workers' compensation patients for surgeries at Tri-City, according to a copy of the charge reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Randall said he is just one of a dozen spinal-implant distributors in the Los Angeles area who mark up the price of the surgical hardware they provide to hospitals, and "there's nothing illegal about what I'm doing, my lawyer tells me." As for the kickback allegation, "that's not true," Mr. Randall said.

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    9. People like this are the scum of society. Just because screwing the system may no be illegal does not mean you should do it. I guess you have to expect this behavior from someone who spent time in prison for racketeering

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    10. C my point exactly prepared a charge! Not charged him do u get that

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    11. ROFLOL yeah Sam V., Paul R., Steve M. all have the SAME high school in common, Oh and its a sew on for sure ask his wife who Paul never divorced, guess what HS she went to? Same one with Sam and Steve.. If you have known Paul from H.S. and you know about his wise guy connections why do you not think he will go down once more this time?

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    12. I know his wife she still speaks highly of him and he supports her not bad for the criminal u say he his

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    13. He has milked millions from the system and obviously has zero morals. He supports his wife with all the money he has stolen from workers Comp.

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    14. Of course she does she is still married to him moved back in with him too.. Cant testify shes married to him.. His record is his record a crook.. cant defend that now can you?

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    15. If he goes to jail will the wig have to go to? Is the wig an accomplice just by sitting on his head?

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    16. That's funny I think that guy has nine lives he will be back on top again soon he's smarter than shit!

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    18. Get's the girls hahahahahaha, they must love running their hands through his wig hahahahahahahaha. He could have a 12 inch penis and would still need chloroform to score a hot chick.

      I am sure he is very smart......but so was Bernie Mahoff.

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    24. I make an excellent living without ripping off the medical system and my head doesn't look like a poodle crawled up and died on it.

      This is a great topic for American Greed; I will give them a call and pitch the idea. We will need to find an actor that looks like a bald asshole with a shitty wig to play the lead role.

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    26. You women r too much maybe the two of you should hook up

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    28. Is Paul Randall the guy whose head looks like a rotting squirrel corpse with that god awful wig? I head that thing smells like bigfoots' dick.

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    30. Yeah and they're hot too

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    34. Dude u guys sound like you've had a lovers quarrel relax take this shit to match.com

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    36. Yeah kiss and make up

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    38. BTW Steve M and Paul R are related by marriage..

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    39. Does Steve M have a shitty wig and rob the healthcare system too?

      Most chicks that hook up with "The Wig" end up in the shower like "The Crying Game".

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    40. I think you and your gay lover have spent too much time in the shower together

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    41. Martinez robbed his own mom of her house can u believe that

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    42. What happened to the Samoan the stripper wife and bill Reynolds and his girlfriend Melissa kramer

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    43. This is better than any reality show!!!

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    44. Krmer is working in the "Insurance clearing side" now.. She is picking what the insurance company will pay for and getting pre-auths for cases based on HER recommendations to the INSURANCE companies of implants and biologics. Really she is the dim bulb that ever attempted to light..

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    45. Did Martinez go to jail for shooting a cop in the chest or is that just rumor. Came out to pen childrens books as I recall. But let me know ;)

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    46. Heard she was queen bj

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    47. R Kramer and Reynolds still an item

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    48. I saw them together last week who's the guy in the relationship

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  25. Funny I saw him last week he seemed better than ever

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  26. They don't need Randall to figure this out the documents don't lie

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  27. Heard junior has turned on senior bet the spine guys there are shitting their pants

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  28. What about fat jak

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  29. Wonder how many docs are involved

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  30. Does anyone have a list of the names of the PODs in So Cal?
    Alliance
    Atlas LLC
    Reliance Medical: KST, Apex, etc
    Allez, then Phygen, now AlphaTec
    Aegis Spine http://aegisspine.com/index.php
    PAC 3
    Stable Spine
    Senate Surgical
    Sturgis Medical
    SSI
    Surgical Evolution

    Does anyone have any more?

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  31. Word has been that this has been going on for years. Wasn't there a surgeon from Vegas that relocated to the area that has been in bed with these guys for years. i believe he was asked to leave the state of Nevada and even had his license suspended in California. If true, funny how the past always seems to catch up with these guys. If they are guilty of fraud or bilking WC out of money throw the book at them, jail time can't justify the many people that probably have been wronged by these criminals. Why aren't the other publications in the industry pimping this story?

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  32. Yeah that was frank ambrosia he went into the pharmacy buzz with drobot and mike stein

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  33. Who gets the ferraris

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  34. What about Avi Sam v and Martinez were they involved

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    1. Martenez is related to Paul R. BTW

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  35. Capen and Larsen went to temple?? Wow they must have known

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  36. What other dirty hospitals r next anyone know

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  37. What is this nonsense in the WSJ about HCA having a policy not allowing POD's? Nothing further from the truth. Hell last year they hired the largest POD in TN to be HCA employees!

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  38. If this is true I would love to see HCA exposed with all the tricks they pull.

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  39. That john c from the wsj is a fruitcake

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  40. Many hospitals tolerate PODs. PODs provide two things hospitals want: cheaper implants and lots of cases.

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    1. Since the docs have access to current pricing (unlike the real market) they come in 2% below. But that is the last price decrease the hospital will ever get. When PODs showed up a few years ago, they came in just under current pricing and they are still at that pricing while the open market has seen a dramatic decrease during that time.
      This is another aspect of PODs that stinks up the whole business. No hospital can negotiate better pricing with a POD owned by the hospitals customers. Even if the hospital could get the same implants thru an independent distributor for less, it will never happen. I know, I tried.

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    2. I agree with the above scenario regarding PODs and their influence on the pricing aspect. Also, it is true that the docs can have a strangle hold on the hospital if they don't buy in to the POD. That of course is illegal (Stark law of self referrals). The POD thing will eventually dry up but those of us who know who the PODs are need to make it public. Who are they, what are they called? If a POD is such a "legal" business why do they all seem to hide and no one knows who the PODs are? Sounds to me like they are trying to keep the POD aspect of their business a secret. Let's open up the forum and list all the names of the PODs.

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    3. I have spoken with the OIG agent in my area and educated her as to what they are, how they generally operate and the effect on their practice patterns and the resulting anti competitiveness. I also sent some similar nformation to the local newspaper (got no response,yet). Everyone should do the same.

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    4. When the hospitals realize they are complicit and a party to the kickback scheme by buying from a POD, this shit will come to a screeching halt

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  41. Unless you have a copy of a check to a doc which can be tied to a procedure, or video of a brown bag going into the docs hand, you junior cops are just wasting the OIGs time. Fortunately, the OIG depends on real evidence and due process of law, not a bunch of whiny bitches who are missing their quota and have an axe to grind.

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    1. You are soon wrong. It doesn't have to be tied to a procedure. Learn the law and read the recent fraud alert.

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    2. Clearly 5:58 PM, you have a point. However, the evidence is impossible to cover up. The hospital has issued checks to PODS and legitimate groups alike. They pay invoices tied to patient accounts. The patient accounts list their surgeon. The OIG need only subpoena the hospital AR, list of surgeons and their implant prescriptions, and the suspected POD's computers and financial records. It will be as plain as day. If I were a POD surgeon, I'd be shitting bricks right now. Cross referrals, tricky pharmacies, property ownership, etc are also well known to the OIG. This is simple compared to the Enrons of the criminal world, and the OIG had no trouble getting convictions at Enron. The POD surgeon's world is going to come crashing down around them.

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  42. 9:39 is spot on. The Surgeons and Hospitals should both be concerned. The OIG has investigated far more complex schemes than these. For a surgeon to risk his reputation , license and possible lawsuits from patient plaintiff attorney's it's not worth it. Some surgeon will be perp walked out of their office wearing a white lab coat to send a message. Don't forget the kneepads!

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  43. New WSJ article today about Pacific paying surgeons to use Alphatec implants!

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    1. Could someone post the article? It's behind a pay wall.

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  44. Chicago Sacred Heart KaBOOM! OIG raid. CEO CFO DPM Urologist and another doc all went down for Medicare fraud and performing unnecessary procedures?

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  45. Will the surgeons that were paid kickbacks at Pacific be prosecuted?

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  46. Good question let the fun begin

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  47. If the allegations in the article are correct then it is likely you'll have surgeons prosecuted too. If they used Alphatec implants and got $15,000 for a lumbar fusion and $7,500 for a cervical fusion yet less if they didn't use the Alphatech implants then it is a blatent kickback between Drobot and the surgeons. With the search warrant and search conducted last month, the trail of payoffs will be easy to follow and a jury will have no problem understanding what took place.

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  48. The U.S. attorney for the Central District of California is investigating allegations that a hospital executive paid kickbacks to physicians so they would refer their patients for spine surgery at his facility, according to people familiar with the probe.

    Over the past 15 years, Michael D. Drobot built a Southern California business empire centered on treating people with back problems, many of them workers' compensation patients. At the heart of the operation is Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, a 184-bed facility that Mr. Drobot bought in 1997 and turned into a spine-surgery center.

    Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the hospital and another company owned by Mr. Drobot earlier this month as part of what the agency termed a fraud investigation. Representatives for the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office declined to give specifics about the probe.

    People familiar with it say it is focused on allegations that Mr. Drobot operated a kickback scheme, under which he allegedly paid doctors thousands of dollars for each spine surgery they referred to Pacific Hospital. Under California's anti-kickback statute, it is illegal to pay money to induce patient referrals. The practice is also illegal under federal law if the patients referred are insured by government health programs such as Medicare or Medicaid.

    "Mr. Drobot and the hospital categorically deny any accusation of impropriety concerning the hospital's outstanding and world-class spinal treatment program," Laura Salas Reyes, a spokeswoman for Pacific Hospital, said, adding that both Mr. Drobot and the hospital "are cooperating fully with authorities looking into the matter."

    In written responses to questions from The Wall Street Journal for a front-page article last year, Mr. Drobot denied paying kickbacks to doctors for patient referrals. The article identified Pacific Hospital as a prolific spine-surgery facility: From 2001 to 2010, according to state data, it performed 5,138 spinal fusions on workers' compensation patients and billed $533 million for them—three times as much as any other hospital in California.

    Along with Pacific Hospital, Mr. Drobot owns a spinal-implant distributorship. Federal agents are investigating allegations he paid surgeons who agreed to use his distributorship's implants $15,000 for each lumbar fusion and $7,500 for each cervical fusion they performed at Pacific Hospital, the people familiar with the probe said. Surgeons who didn't use his implants were allegedly paid smaller sums, these people said.

    Lumbar fusions, where vertebrae in the lower spine are fused together, allegedly commanded a bigger premium because Pacific Hospital could charge more for them, and because they involved inserting more implants, resulting in more sales for Mr. Drobot's distributorship, the people familiar with the probe said.

    Mr. Drobot's distributorship resold implants made by Alphatec Holdings Inc., ATEC -5.78% a Carlsbad, Calif., company. Documents reviewed by the Journal show that Pacific Hospital marked up the Alphatec implants supplied by Mr. Drobot's distributorship sharply when it billed them to patients' insurers—in excess of limits set by the California's workers' compensation division.

    Alphatec's general counsel, Ebun Garner, said the firm let its contract with Mr. Drobot expire earlier this year after he violated it by charging excessive prices. Mr. Drobot didn't reply to an inquiry put to him through the hospital about Mr. Garner's version of events.

    The U.S. attorney is probing allegations Mr. Drobot funneled the kickbacks to surgeons via another firm he owns that provides collection services to doctors, the people familiar with the probe said. In his answers to questions from the Wall Street Journal last year, Mr. Drobot denied any improper arrangements between the firm and surgeons operating at Pacific Hospital.

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  49. Uhhhhhhh there has to be a lot of surgeons shitting their pants right now. This is almost as good as The Walking Dead!

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  50. Interestingly, the daily OIG email blast has 3 resources for self disclosure of fraud. Coincidence? I think not!

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  51. I saw Alphatec being used last week so I do not believe that they severed ties with Pacific. I am sure pacific represented millions in business per year for the scum at Alphatec so I cannot imagine this will help their numbers. What a shady organization!

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    1. If you SAW it there in the OR then your there for a case and how much did you get paid for that case?

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    2. I sell a device these scumbags cannot get everywhere and markup for billions. I sell it at huge discount and make far less then at any other hospital in the area. I fucking hate walking into that shit hole den of thieves.

      I assure you Alphatec knows exactly what is going on there. There is no way they couldn't since everyone and their mother knows. I only said Alphatec because they were in the paper. There are several other dirtbag companies doing the same thing there.

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    3. So companies who sell to Pacific are dirtbags.. You feel so needed there you give them a massive discount you give them the best rate of any hospital around, screwing your other hospitals with higher prices because they are not dirbags, I get it. why lower prices at pacific because they are so great and they cant your shit anywhere but you.. So why not change your profile to dirtbag welcome to the party...

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    4. I agree that there's something suspect about your post 3:11. Why would you sell to pacific for under market value if they can't get your fabulous product from anybody else? Ever heard of supply and demand? And if you hate it so much, why are you there?

      Delete
    5. I go because it is my job and I have to. I do not get to pick where I sell, if I am called for a surgery I go. I had nothing to do with pricing negotiations so I have no clue why the pricing is lower then other accounts. The place is creepy and I do not like going there......what is wrong with that?

      Delete
    6. Then you are a case coverage rep and you should question your boss. If you have to go and you had nothing to do with the pricing then you don't sell anything as you claimed in your first post.

      Delete
    7. 4:48 you are a fucking idiot. I also do business at Cedars and had no say in the price. All pricing is handled and approved at a corporate level. There are teams of individuals that travel the county and negotiate.

      It is amazing that I get commissions on products that you claim I don't sell.

      BTW case coverages reps only exist in distributorships with a greedy principal or a POD.

      Are you one of the criminal scumbags at Pacific hospital ripping off the system or a d-bag that works for Alphawreck? Either way your future is not very bright.

      Delete
    8. I guess I'm a greedy distributor principal. Am I greedy because I hire coverage reps and pay them salary instead commissions? They prefer salary because they would starve otherwise.
      If you have no control over pricing, you are the f'ing idiot and you are also an f'ing idiot and a sheep to cover cases with people you don't want to do business with. That fact that you do, and at steep discounts, tells me you don't have any control of your own destiny. I think you are the d'bag servicing these guys. Grow a pair and walk away

      Delete
    9. why would anyone walk away from a sale 5:21????????? That is the most retarded/ignorant thing I have ever heard. You must not be in any large institutions or you would know price is not dictated it is mandated.

      I will let me company know I don't feel like honoring national contracts and refuse to go to certain accounts. I am sure that will go over really well.

      You coverage reps sound like real winners if they want to be salaried in a sales job.........you are a tool.

      Delete
    10. I don't think pacific is a large institution since it is owned by an individual. I have walked away from from sales if they were with unethical surgeons, if the surgeons are abusive or simply terrible surgeons. That includes passing on cases and not calling on such surgeons. If you are forced to deal with criminals, then you have some nerve calling me a tool. If you are a good salesman with ethics and character, you would have enough other business to pass on Pacific. I'll take my coverage reps over a spineless stooge "selling" to criminals all day long. You'll be selling cell phones when those crooks go to jail or that facility gets shuttered.

      Delete
  52. Replies
    1. Alphawreck It Ralph

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    2. LOL.... You owe me a new keyboard that was freaking funny right there.

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  53. Prison! Only when enough of these crooks get tossed in prison where they belong and other surgeons get the bad publicity they deserve will things change.

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  54. The IRS needs to be looking into some of the income sources these surgeons are getting like travel expenses and honoraria.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Physicians won't go to jail or pay a fine.
    Read up on Chattanooga. All three hospitals have paid fines for Stark, but not the physicians involved.

    OIG is a joke.

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  56. Thank you. The OIG, the FBI, the DOJ, THEY are a farce. Let's talk facts, what happened to the Lyons Brothers NADA. Hey Ms. Prosecutor you F$&ked up. Hey FBI all talk no action. You guys F&$k up people's lives and you let white collar criminals have a free ride. Can someone finally make some surgeons, CEO's and POD founders do the perp walk. Stop dicking around with some low level middle manager. SHAME ON YOU. MAN UP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree with all the above. The docs need to go to prison, the OIG and the State Board are impotent. However, we can make a difference here on this Blog by posting the names of the PODs. Let's not keep these guys protected by the secret society they belong to. Bring them out. Lets post some names here. Get them recognized. The hospitals, much of the time, have no idea who a POD is unless the POD rep or the doc say, "hey, I am a POD rep" or "I am using a POD and I make a ton of money from these guys that the hospital pays for." When will that happen? NEVER. So, make it public. List the PODs names.

      Delete
    2. What makes you think this is something new? Rich people only go to jail when they screw other rich people. They are not called the criminal elite for no reason.

      Duke medical has deals with LANX.

      Delete
  57. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  58. Here is a reality check that will explain why the filthy rich never face prosecution. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QPKKQnijnsM#!

    Check it out and see what the people who run your company make compared to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Want to buy some inexpensive land in Florida?
      You seem like a great guy with a keen sense of what is "really" going on.
      So please post your email so I can send you a great DVD with charts and graphs for you to review. (It even has a special surprise hollywood actor narrating!)
      I know for a fact many of the other bloggers on here would love the opportunity to send you some additional information.
      Just post your email and let your world begin to change!
      Cheers my friend!

      Delete
    2. I watched your video. It is basically calling for socialism. Socialism makes the rich more poor. But it also makes the middle class and even the poor more poor. 9:17 PM, you should watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHGCz6xxiw

      Delete
  59. Jail for these criminals but not Club Fed. Put these bastards in with criminals that are as dangerous as they are. Maybe the inmates will do some much needed surgery on them like a multiple rectal-plasty.

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  60. AMEN Let's see how tough a bunch of geeky asshole surgeons are when they do the perp walk and get to meet Bubba live. Screw the fact that they are surgeons, you commit the crime, you do the time who's worse, the guy robbing a gas station at night for pocket change or someone ripping off the system for millions of dollars?

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  61. OK. Blah, blah, blah. All of you do nothing constructive other than keep up the anger about this subject, which is important. However, to do something constructive list the names of the PODs. Make those public. We have seen some names. How about the 40+ that the OIG claims are in California? WHO ARE THEY????

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  62. Who is Albert Luna and what's his relationship with pacific

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. Albert Luna is somehow connected by blood or long time friendship..run for the HILLS!!

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    3. When I say run for the HILLS I mean the fucking Mountains..

      Delete
  63. I really like how your class timings of your blog. I enjoyed reading your blog and it is both instructional and interesting.Thanks!

    acupuncture in bucks county

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  64. You guys r hilarious this is better than comedy central!!!

    ReplyDelete
  65. Luna billed mris for a company that drobot owns he also works for Sam v I think

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  66. Can anyone tell me the name of a spinal implant manufacture that doesn't work with POD's, hire surgeon girlfriend/mistresses,son's, daughters? Also, would prefer company to not engage in any sham consulting or royalty agreements with surgeon investors. If company like this exists I would like to purchase stock in them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was one around 10 years ago. It went bankrupt.

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    2. There is only one: Globus

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    3. Ha! Thats funny! This blog is always good for a laugh...

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  67. Your fantasies about rape in prison are hilarious. If convicted, a spine surgeon would be a first time offender on a relatively minor white-collar rap. They don't send people to a Federal super-MAX or level 3, 4 or 5 yard for that type of offense, no matter how you may salivate over the prospect of buggery. Rape in any prison is self-policed and extremely rare. My nephew is a a prison guard for the state of Illinois, and he knows this stuff. Prison population is divided along racial lines. Any rape (or any type of assault) of an inmate across these lines would mean immediate war. Any rape within those lines would be "bitch" behavior, also not tolerated. This may disappoint a great many of you who may have secret fantasies about prison butt sex, but its just the facts. If by chance a Spine Surgeon was found guilty of a serious self-referral Medicare-fraud type of crime and if he was made an example of and sent to to a higher level yard, his greater risk would be extortion and getting his ass beat or getting attacked with a shiv for not paying extortion money. But the odds are, he would end up in a low-security federal facility, kind of like a bad college dorm with a big fence around it. But it is involuntary incarceration with bad food, and you can't leave or get trim, and your reputation is permanently sullied. And you are a convicted felon, and you can't ever vote or own a firearm. Pretty bad. Unless you just gotta have the butt sex...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent post. All the tough guy prison talk here is an unbelievably lame attempt to intimidate surgeons who may be considering joining a POD- written by a few corporate rep losers with their own fantasies of anal penetration.

      Delete
    2. Anal has now taken over this thread wow!

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    3. It's not meant to intimidate you. If it did then you are probably guilty. It's just fun imagining that they get what they deserve

      Delete
    4. Illinois huh...., sorry not in California.

      Delete
  68. Oh, I see. So you like to imagine butt rape in prison. These lost commissions have got you all messed up in the head, dude.

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  69. The FBI have turned a couple surgeons into informants. I am not convinced we will see jail time but we will see names in the WSJ and tarnished reputations.

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  70. Little drobot is going down too

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  71. The kickback laws are criminal in nature. Stark, etc., are civil. If the docs are convicted of kickbacks they could face jail time. Likely if they cooperate it will just be fines, loss of treating Medicare-Medicaid patients and possible loss of license. It is getting interesting in California. I'm sure the WSJ will have a field day with this.

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  72. It's a shame to see so much hate between doctors and reps.....a same to the PATIENT and a shame to the INDUSTRY.

    Reps are pissed as they are losing $$$. OK I get it....now get off your ass and pick up a new product line.

    Docs are pissed as they believe reps are making too much $$$. OK I get it......but isn't your job and the OATH you took geared toward better patient care???? Do you physically pay out of your pocket for the screw or plate that you are going to implant???

    I have 2-replacement hips (1-replacement and 1-revision) and now I need a cervical plate. 40-years of football and football officiating.

    I spoke to a local orthopod about my options and he said that he has partial ownership in a company and the surgery he recommends will "probably" take care of this - C5/6 herniation.

    I ran away from him as fast as I could - I took this answer as buy my inventory - it "probably" will help your issue.

    SHAME SHAME on you reps and surgeons. Do what you were trained to do - let the hospitals and surgical centers handle the business issues.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least the surgeon was honest enough to disclose his ownership. Most won't even do that. Good luck with your neck, but remember there are never any guarantees in medicine. "Probably" is the best anyone can honestly offer.

      Delete
    2. That is the old American way. Capitalism at its best. If you don't like the "business side", possibly a relocation to Cuba is in order?

      Delete
  73. No one answered the, did Steve M assault a cop question. Also, have Steve M and Melissa K ever hooked up? What a match that would be.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I cant believe no one has said anything about her eye...O.o

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  74. Has anyone heard anything about LDR being bought over this past weekend?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yup. it was done on thursday

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    2. Who bought LDR?

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    3. The Kyphon homos at LDR may need to start looking for real jobs if they get bought by anyone who wants more than 1 day of work/week...

      Delete
    4. Why does Andre Potgeiter hire former Kyphon?

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    5. Who bought LDR? What a bunch of overrated shisters!

      Delete
  75. Heard Biomet was buying Lanx.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really??? Where did you hear that??? Biomet is a reputable company. Hard to believe they would have anything to do with Lanx

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  76. Martinez and Melissa now that's a lot of ass kissing!!which one would strap it on???

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  77. Has drobot Jr given up his dad yet

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  78. Zimmer reported Q1 2013 sales numbers and spine is down 10%.

    I didn't know they had a spine system???

    ReplyDelete
  79. Zimmer is getting out of spine. They will run out their current products as long as they can break even and then wind down the division. Absolutely no new investment. Laid off the whole R&D team. Sucks to be a Zimmer Spine distributor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting since they just signed a deal to distribute SpineCraft's APEX System in US, Canada, Australia and NZ.

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    2. Who is SpineCraft? I've never heard of them. Anyone know who started it?

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  80. It's a spine company from Westmont, IL started by CEO Wagdy Asaad and spine surgeons Kamal Ibrahim, Steven Mather, Steven Mardjetko and Anis Mekhail. They have been around for about 7 or 8 years.

    ReplyDelete
  81. So Zimmer is distributing their products so they use Zimmer? It's the first smart move Zimmer has made in Spine.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Insiders at GE are saying Amedica is going under, not even coming close to the 2.4 m per month quota.
    Jan - $2 mil
    Feb - $1.5 mil
    March $1.3 mil
    April : will finish around $1.1-$1.2

    Plus sources are saying they are dropping their amniotic product line. These guys are going down the bowl like a bad crap.

    I guess the investor pushed recon/trauma sales guys are making a splash in spine. My favorite is their CEOs hair, is that the guy Eric Strada from CHIPS? I saw him last NASS sitting up stairs of his over sized booth doing nothing. Looks like Titan will win the battle... Again!

    Sources say Amedicas CEOs contract is up this year... Another CEO? How bout bring back the rain maker, Ben Shapply? At least he gets sales!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're going to attempt to be cute, at least get it right.. It's Henry Enrique "Erik" Estrada and I believe your're refering to Francis "Ponch" Poncherello..

      Delete