What Should Patients Be Told About Device Representatives' Roles at the Point of Surgical Care?

Recent research has highlighted device representatives' roles in surgical cases. Additional review of cases based on actual events suggests that lack of training on the part of a surgeon and surgical team and lack of knowledge and training on the part of a representative can adversely affect a patient's clinical outcomes. While the necessity of surgical team training is acknowledged by health care organizations, organizations' policies about how to respond when surgeons or trainees refuse representatives' preoperative training remains unclear. Such a case is considered here with commentary that discusses a new model for technical support prior to, during, and after a patient's surgery.