Prescriptions: Board Disciplines 3 Doctors

 

The Board of Medical Examiners in New Jersey, which is responsible for licensing doctors practicing in the state, said on Tuesday that it had disciplined three orthopedic surgeons because they did not disclose their personal financial interests in the success of an artificial spinal disk they were studying in clinical trials that were used by federal regulators to approve the disk.

The state agency reprimanded Drs. Richard A. Balderston, Thomas J. Errico and Jeffrey A. Goldstein for failing to tell their respective research institutions about their financial ties in ProDisc, the artificial disk, while they participated in research on the devices. These surgeons were among a group of doctors who stood to profit financially from the disk’s success. The device was the subject of a front-page article in The New York Times in early 2008 that examined concerns over the doctors’ potential conflicts of interest.

These three doctors are licensed in New Jersey.

“The undisclosed conflicts of interest on the part of these doctors undercut public trust in the medical profession,” said New Jersey Attorney General Paula T. Dow in a statement. In 2009, the state attorney general’s office reached a settlement with Synthes, the maker of the ProDisc artificial spinal disk, that called for the company to disclose any future payments or investments held by doctors involved in researching its products.

Dr. Errico and Dr. Goldstein did not disclose their financial ties to NYU Medical Center and Hospital for Joint Disease, according to state officials. Dr. Errico was assessed $60,000 in civil penalties. Dr. Goldstein was assessed $30,000 in civil penalties.

In a statement, Dr. Errico said: “The event at issue here occurred nearly 10 years ago and was the first industry clinical trial I was involved in. Regrettably, I allowed inadvertent clerical errors to occur on my watch as the principal investigator of the ProDisc study, but any inconsistencies were completely unintentional.”

In a statement, Dr. Goldstein said his “investment and consulting relationships with regard to the ProDisc study have been fully disclosed to both NYU and to the N.J. Board of Medical Examiners, and any inconsistencies were not intentional.” He said he supports the disclosure of doctors’ financial ties to industry.

“Over the past 10 years since the inception of the ProDisc study, the rules about disclosure have been rapidly changing and improving and making the process more transparent,” he said.

Dr. Balderston, who failed to disclose his interest in the device to the University of Pennsylvania’s Pennsylvania Hospital, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. He previously testified that he thought he was not required to make any disclosure because his role in the research was limited, according to the consent order.