Inadequate business research: causes and implications

Inadequate Business Research in the Medical Industry

For a medical company that is ostensibly concerned with consumer welfare as well as making a profit, it is not enough for the company to mere know what the customer wants, whether that customer is a hospital or a patient. The company may know how to reach the customer through advertising, but through adequate testing, re-testing and research over the long-term, the company must also make sure that the product that is being marketed is safe and effective as well as striking and affordable to the eye of doctors and consumers alike. If it does not, it runs the risk of potential lawsuits and a precipitous loss of trust in public confidence.

Last month, after a series of malfunctions, the medical company Guidant issued safety warnings on eleven models of its surgically implanted defibrillators. It was estimated that despite previous testing, the problem regarding the devices' safety could affect up to 88,000 of the devices. Those malfunctions may have led to two deaths. The Food and Drug Administration classified Guidant's safety warnings about the devices as inadequate. The company said it found that a malfunction had occurred in one of the devices after it was reprogrammed, tracing the problems to improper usage and improper education of those using the devices of health care providers.

Fortunately, in this instance, no patient was serious injured, although the patient had to have the device replaced, possibly causing trauma to the mental state of the individual. Still this particular failure on the part of the company is unlike some of the more problematic cases regarding drugs research and the company's decision to ignore potential medical complaints such as Merck's advertising of its painkiller Vioxx. Guidant said it was now investigating other instances of malfunction, including another possible injury, and no lawsuits were pending.