Quickly vetted, treatment is offered to patients

The Food and Drug Administration allows thousands of medical devices onto the market each year after only cursory review and with no clear evidence that they help patients. Doctors are free to use those products as they see fit, without telling patients that the devices are not proved. And because the doctors are frequently paid more by Medicare as a way to compensate them for the extra time and expense of adopting new procedures, these unproven products can become widely adopted. FDA officials defend the quick-review process as a way to promote innovation.