Medical-device maker Medtronic Inc. disclosed that it made payments of more than $15.7 million in royalties and consulting fees to U.S. doctors in the first quarter, the first time the company has provided such details. In making the voluntary disclosure, Medtronic is stepping ahead of requirements of a new federal law mandating such publication by 2013. The vast majority of the payments, or $14.2 million, went to orthopedic specialists and orthopedic surgeons, the Wall Street Journal reports.
