Author

Fred Schulte
Injuries mount as sales reps for device makers cozy up to surgeons, even in operating rooms
By: Fred Schulte - November 29, 2021
Cristina Martinez’s spinal operation in Houston was expected to be routine. But after destabilizing her spine, the surgeon discovered the implant he was ready to put in her back was larger than he wanted to use — and the device company’s sales rep didn’t have a smaller size on hand, according to a report he […]
Device makers have funneled billions to surgeons who use their products
By: Fred Schulte and Elizabeth Lucas - August 15, 2021
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin was little more than a decade out of Harvard Medical School when sales of his spine surgical implants took off. Chin has patented more than 40 pieces of such hardware, including doughnut-shaped plastic cages, titanium screws and other products used to repair spines — generating $100 million for his company SpineFrontier, […]
Tracking COVID vaccinations is nearly impossible task
By: Rachana Pradham and Fred Schulte - January 30, 2021
As they rush to vaccinate millions of Americans, health officials are struggling to collect critically important information — such as race, ethnicity and occupation — of every person they jab. The data being collected is so scattered that there’s little insight into which health care workers, or first responders, have been among the people getting […]