Medical Device Link -- The use of devices to treat diseases is often reserved for patients who have failed a few drug therapies. This tradition is partly driven by doctors underestimating the drawbacks of many drugs, as well as a reimbursement system that has a shortsighted time horizon. Some devices, especially as their related procedures become less invasive, should move up in the treatment paradigm because they may provide better long-term clinical outcomes more cost-effectively than drugs. To help devices earn the respect they deserve, manufacturers should work to develop technology that overcomes early adoption obstacles.
