Dec 12th, 2013,(Memphis Business Journal)–Medtronic Inc. has released the results of a seven-year study that could give the company an advantage when it comes to getting insurance companies to cover its products.Medtronic, which has its spinal division based in Memphis, completed a clinical study of 541 patients who received the company’s Prestige Cervical Disc implant, showing the device gave patients more movement and less pain seven years after surgery, compared to patients who didn’t have the device. An estimated 395 of the patients enrolled completed the seven year follow-up.
Pat Wilson, vice president of cervical at Medtronic Spine, said the study “separates Medtronic from the marketplace” when it comes to proving the effectiveness of the device. Medtronic estimates 150,000 patients undergo a cervical procedure annually, with between 10 percent and 25 percent of those patients indicating for cervical discs.
“We’re able to say at seven years it still does what it’s intended to do, but that’s the tip of the iceberg,” Wilson said. “If other companies can reach those points, it’ll ultimately help the patients because insurance companies push back because they want long term data or they threaten not to cover it. With this, they don’t have anything to say.”
Wilson said Medtronic has other studies of spinal products underway, which if successful, could give the company even more data validating its products for insurance companies.
“The more you collect data, the more informed people will be,” Wilson said. “This helps validate the use of artificial discs in the spine, specifically the neck. Insurance companies will look at this and realize you can’t get any better than this type of data.”
Source: Michael Sheffield http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2013/12/11/medtronic-study-could-increase.html