The scrutiny of hospital group purchasing organizations continues. The New York Times ran a front-page article on Monday about how certain hospital executives confidentially advise companies on how best to sell their pharmaceuticals, medical devices and financial services to hospitals. These executives all belong to an organization called the Healthcare Research and Development Institute (HRDI), a for-profit company that is owned by three dozen hospital executives, but underwritten by 40 or so of its handpicked corporate members, all suppliers to hospitals. MDMA’s Executive Director, Mark Leahey, was quoted as saying that “he was troubled by the fact that HRDI members had included leaders of organizations that negotiate major purchasing contracts on behalf of hundreds of nonprofit hospitals.” The article noted Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s ongoing investigation into whether HRDI allows certain vendors to buy access to hospital leaders who are in a position to influence the supplies or services their institutions purchase.
