MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Questions about an ad featuring Intuitive Surgical’s (NSDQ:ISRG) da Vinci robot-assisted surgical system have gotten the University of Illinois’ medical center into hot water.
The University of Illinois lent its branding and some of its doctors to an ad that ran in the New York Times Magazine, proclaiming "We believe in da Vinci surgery because our patients benefit." Small print at the bottom of the page stated that the copyright for the ad belonged to Intuitive Surgical and that some of the physicians pictured had received payments from the company.
"The University has allowed its reputation to be used in a nationally distributed advertisement produced and owned by a private party, in benefit to that party’s commercial objectives," former Beth Israel Deaconess hospital administrator Paul Levy wrote in a blog post entitled ‘Time to fire somebody.’
Levy cited the hospital’s own code of conduct, saying that it’s participation in the advertisement "is not consistent with ‘exercising custodial responsibility for University property and resources.’"
"So, who should be fired for these violations?" Levy concluded. "Simple: I would choose the highest-rank administrator and clinician who gave permission for this advertisement to be published."
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