Hospital, Heal Thyself

Some time in the next several months, the hospital group purchasing organization (GPO) industry will undergo a level of public scrutiny that it has never experienced before. Two US senators are gearing to hold hearings on the industry, specifically to explore the negative impact that group purchasing has had on competition among medical device and hospital supply companies. At the same time, The New York Timesis apparently preparing a major investigative piece on group purchasing and, though it hadn't run as of this writing, it could be harsh. Similar articles in the recent past, on marketing and the clinical trials process, have excoriated the pharmaceutical industry in terms that made it look downright greedy and borderline dishonest.

Some suppliers are, privately at least, eager to have the hearings begin. A driving force behind them is the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, a Washington-based trade association representing smaller companies...