Support or sales? Medical device representatives in Australian hospitals

医疗设备代表为使用复杂医疗设备的临床医生提供关键支持。然而，他们最大化销售的义务与他们的支持角色相冲突。越来越多的设备使用可能会影响患者安全和医疗保健成本，因此了解设备代表的参与和影响非常重要。拟议的研究将调查澳大利亚医院中设备代表的伦理和法律影响，从而对其活动产生新的知识和创新的伦理和法律分析。好处包括政策框架，管理设备代表互动的新标准，以及临床医生和机构的道德和法律义务的清晰度。

Medical device representatives provide crucial support to clinicians using complex medical equipment. However, their obligation to maximise sales conflicts with their support role. Increasing uptake of devices potentially impacts patient safety and healthcare costs, making it important to understand the involvement and influence of device representatives. The proposed research will investigate the ethical and legal impacts of device representatives in Australian hospitals, leading to new knowledge and innovative ethical and legal analyses of their activities. Benefits include a policy framework, new standards for managing device representatives’ interactions, and clarity about ethical and legal obligations of clinicians and institutions.