(BREATHES LABORIOUSLY)
REPORTER: Everybody feels pain,
but more than three million Australians are prisoners of it,
but more than three million desperate for relief.
(GROANS)
It's spawned an industry
that's become a breeding ground It's spawned an industry
that's become a breeding ground for exploitation.
JASON PARKER: You're desperate, you need help,
they offer you desperate solutions, and you take them.
TERESA BURBERY: He said, "Look, we do believe
"that this would improve your pain levels by about 60% to 70%."
And I heard that and I thought, "My God, that's lifechanging."
DAVID IZARD: We just saw that ray of light and thought, "You beauty."
But it was just a train that came down and whacked us so hard.
MARGARET FAUX: Someone comes along and says,
"Trust me, I'm a doctor, I'll take your pain away,"
"Trust me, I'm a doctor, you would believe them.
Australians spend more than $3 billion a year
trying to treat chronic back pain.
It's become an epidemic.
MARGARET FAUX: The pain industry is a huge profitable business
MARGARET FAUX: The pain industry that everybody's in.
So, you've got anaesthetist, that everybody's in.
So, you've got anaesthetist, surgeons, pain specialists, GPs,
and then in addition you've got drug companies,
and then in addition you've got device companies.
It's leaving a trail of misery,
with some patients ending up in worse pain,
with some patients some suffering paralysis,
even death.
It was always just another surgery, another surgery, another surgery.
It was always just another surgery, I feel like a lab rat.
"If this doesn't work, well, we'll try this."
Or "That didn't work. We'll go a bit more invasive."
Or "That didn't work. IAN HARRIS: There's a correlation
between financial reward for doing procedures
and the frequency at which those procedures are done.
The pain sector has no idea
we've got access to their medical billing data.
And we've sent it to international fraud investigators
and a team of leading Australian healthcare experts.
I was very startled by those findings.
I was very startled It really profoundly shocked me.
IAN HARRIS: If it was policed in any kind of way,
then you would find an immediate change.
then you would find What shocked you most?
The size of the problem.
We'll reveal
how some medical professionals are draining our health system.
There's some obvious cowboys out there. Unfortunately, we met one.
We look inside
the multi-billion-dollar pain industry We look inside
the multi-billion-dollar pain industry
and expose the ugly side of medicine.
Patients' lives are being put at risk
and the regulator is failing to do its job.
TERESA BURBERY: The first words I heard
was my specialist standing over me saying,
"I'm so sorry, Teresa. was my specialist standing over me saying,
"I'm so sorry, Teresa.
"I'm so sorry, Teresa."
He said it about three times.
"I'm so sorry, I've struck your spinal-cord."
Teresa Burbery's minor procedure
turned into a major medical incident.
I still didn't understand that my leg was paralysed
I still didn't understand because nobody actually said that.
Nobody told me what was going on.
(EXHALES HEAVILY)
Every day I wake up and the first thing I see is my chair
because it's plugged in next to my bed.
I open my eyes and it's there,
and then I recognise the pain,
and sometimes the pain's the first thing to wake me up.
And I look at that chair and I say,
"Alright, we've got to do this again today."
Teresa underwent an operation for a spinal-cord stimulator
after she was hit by a car, leaving her with hip pain.
The medical device is implanted in patients' backs.
It sends electrical impulses into the spinal-cord to relieve pain.
Her doctor at a private pain clinic said it would help ease her pain.
The very first time I sat in his office and had a consult
he immediately suggested,
"Have you thought about a spinal cord stimulator implant device?"
"Have you thought about a spinal So, this was the first consultation?
This was the very first.
And I remember thinking, This was the very first.
And I remember thinking, "My God, that's lifechanging.
"That's me being able to go running again.
"That's me being able to be completely drug-free."
"That's me being able (BREATHES HEAVILY)
Teresa says her pain specialist (BREATHES HEAVILY)
Teresa says her pain specialist played down the risks.
He actually said to me,
"Nothing ever really goes wrong He actually said to me,
"Nothing ever really goes wrong with this procedure.
"Nothing ever really goes wrong "It's really safe."
It's left me...
..in worse pain than I could ever have imagined.
I've been left with constant fire pain on my left leg and left side.
So, I've got a whole new area of pain and it doesn't stop.
I've still got that niggly right hip from before,
but, funnily enough, that feels like a drop in the ocean these days
because the pain, that entire area, like, it's just on fire now.
And in terms of before you went in to get the stimulator,
you were saying you were on 20 to 30 milligrams of painkillers.
What sort of medication are you on now?
What sort of medication 100 milligrams.
Just to make it through the day.
Nobody tells you that paralysis means
you won't feel anything, that paralysis means
you won't feel anything,
you won't feel any temperature,
you know, no hot, cold, no touch,
but all you'll feel is pain.
You'll lose control of your proper bowel functions.
You'll lose proper bladder function.
You'll lose sexual function.
Those things are all gone.
Where is that in the warnings? Where is that in the information provided?
Research on spinal-cord stimulators is mixed.
There's a lack credible scientific evidence
as a treatment for chronic pain. There's a lack credible scientific evidence
as a treatment for chronic pain.
Independent research even describes them as no better than a placebo.
Leading orthopaedic surgeon Professor Ian Harris agrees.
He co-wrote a review on them last year.
The conclusion is that they're no more effective than placebo.
The conclusion is that they're So, there's uncertainty,
and when we have uncertainty, So, there's uncertainty,
and when we have uncertainty, we have practice variation.
And the reason why there's uncertainty
is because there's no good evidence that they actually work
compared to NOT doing it.
Almost 90% of spinal-cord-stimulator procedures
Almost 90% are done in private hospitals.
They can cost up to $58,000.
CHRIS HAYES: In the private system
as it exists at the moment, CHRIS HAYES: In the private system
as it exists at the moment,
I believe there is pressure to do that
just to keep the wheels of the system rolling, so to speak.
There is pressure to fill beds, to fill operation lists.
The more you get paid for procedure There is pressure to fill beds, to fill operation lists.
The more you get paid for procedure
the more likely it is that that procedure will be done.
Tens of thousands of spinal-cord stimulators
Tens of thousands are implanted globally each year.
Thousands end up in Australia.
Success stories drive demand.
SONG: # I can lick it I can ride it
# While you slip it and slide it... #
(HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYS)
They're marketed as safe and effective.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYS)
But behind the spin
lies a global medical device industry
making a fortune out of Australia.
(INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
They actually described our country as 'Treasure Island'.
This is an extremely lucrative procedure
for a number of people in the sector.
Whether it's the pain specialist, the pain clinic
or the multinational big device companies,
they all benefit.
Teresa is one of a growing number of Australians
living with spinal surgery gone wrong.
TERESA BURBERY: When I encounter people out in public
and they tell me... or they straight up ask me,
and they tell me... "What happened to you?"
I feel a sense of responsibility to share with them the full story. "What happened to you?"
I feel a sense of responsibility to share with them the full story.
But I'm also absolutely terrified to tell them that a doctor did this,
But I'm also absolutely terrified a doctor did this to me...
..and their whole world, their whole belief system comes crashing down.
Money and medicine make uncomfortable bedfellows,
where profit is sometimes put ahead of the patient.
OPERATOR: (ON PHONE) Emergency services.
ANNE MYERS: (ON PHONE) It's my husband, he's in massive pain.
ANNE MYERS: (ON PHONE) It's my He's 55.
Ohh...
He's in terrible pain.
This audio is the ambulance call Anne Myers made
when she thought her husband, Gordon, was dying.
He was, like, on a rollercoaster of pain
and he would be in so much pain He was, like, on a rollercoaster of pain
and he would be in so much pain
that, you know, and he would be in so much pain
that, you know, I've had to call several ambulances
to take him to hospital
'cause he had so much chest pain.
Gordon Myers has been living in hell since a workplace accident in 2007.
What sort of pain are you in?
GORDON MYERS: I've got nerve pain.
And it's every day I don't know when that pain's going to hit me.
I get a lot of...
..tingling down my spine
right down my feet.
I get.... When it gets really bad,
my body feels as though I'm having tremors.
Gordon's pain specialist recommended a spinal-cord stimulator.
He was in more pain when he got home than he had before,
He was in more pain when he got home plus the medication and...
Well, the first thing that I noticed
was that the thing was heating up inside me when I was charging
and it was giving me electric shocks.
I woke up flying through the air out of bed
and it nearly threw me out the bedroom window
and I had to use all my strength not to go through the glass window.
He did say to me many, many times,
"Get a knife and cut this thing out. He did say to me many, many times,
"Get a knife and cut this thing out. I can't stand it."
"Get a knife and cut this thing out. Yeah.
And this is what it did to Gordon's back.
Felt like third-degree burns... Yeah.
..on my back.
So, he got it removed.
Four Corners has obtained exclusive data
Four Corners which shows how frequently
spinal-cord stimulators
require patients to go back into an operating theatre.
Dr Rachel David has access to Australia's private health data
as the CEO representing private health funds.
So, for spinal-cord stimulators, we looked at 6,000 people, as the CEO representing private health funds.
So, for spinal-cord stimulators, we looked at 6,000 people,
So, for spinal-cord stimulators, and within a three-year window
41% came back for more surgery,
whether that was another implant
or something went wrong with that original procedure.
If you compare that to hip replacement,
only 2.7% of patients come back within a three-year window.
only 2.7% of patients come back 41% is astonishingly high.
GORDON MYERS: I feel like a piece of shit
that's sitting in the garbage bin
waiting to be picked up by the garbo drivers.
waiting to be picked up Mm.
Doesn't make you feel very human.
Mm.
It's probably the best one -
they don't make you feel human.
If that makes sense.
It's not just spinal-cord stimulators.
Spinal fusion is another popular procedure
for treating chronic back pain. is another popular procedure
for treating chronic back pain.
The private health system does the majority of them.
That's where grandmother of three Trudi King had hers done.
TRUDI KING: That's all I wanted, to live a pain-free life,
which we all want,
because the pain and the drugs,
taking all those tablets
and the morphine,
it was just getting too much.
It was the specialist who actually suggested the surgery.
Hi, everyone.
This is a video taken moments after she woke up
This is a video from the first surgery in 2021.
What was going through your head? I was terrified.
I didn't understand why I couldn't move my feet,
and no-one really... the doctor didn't come and see me,
so, no-one really told me what was going on.
There were serious complications.
Totally in ICU, unconscious, did not wake up.
Trudi was in a coma for almost three weeks,
and when she finally left the hospital
and when she finally she couldn't walk.
I've got three grandbabies she couldn't walk.
I've got three grandbabies under five
and I can't play with 'em like I want to...
Now it's like, "Nanny's always sick,"
Now it's like, or "Nanny's sick."
You know, I'm not the healthy nana
I always pictured that I would be with them.
I always pictured Ohh!
(BREATHES HEAVILY)
(GROANS, GRUNTS)
(WHIMPERS)
(BREATHES HEAVILY)
I think if I could get my hands on the surgeon,
I'd like to just say to him, "What the hell did you do?"
Spinal fusion involves joining two or more bones in the spine permanently
Spinal fusion involves joining two or to prevent movement between them.
Trudi had three bones fused together
she says after scans found disk degeneration.
Professor Ian Harris says an MRI will pick up abnormalities
on most people over 40.
IAN HARRIS: They'll find degenerative changes
and dehydrated discs and bulging discs,
and, so, there's plenty of diagnoses.
The more things you find the more likely it is that you'll end up and, so, there's plenty of diagnoses.
The more things you find the more likely it is that you'll end up
with somebody wanting to treat
or 'correct' that abnormality
even though correcting that abnormality
even though might not help the patient
because it might not be associated might not help the patient
because it might not be associated with their pain.
RACHEL DAVID: There is a small place for spinal fusion
for people who might've broken their back RACHEL DAVID: There is a small place for spinal fusion
for people who might've broken their back
or had a serious congenital deformity
or had a serious where their back is...
..is simply not able to function properly.
..is simply not able But for back pain
we're seeing that spinal fusion But for back pain
we're seeing that spinal fusion is a very expensive procedure
that for a number of people just simply does not get results.
A rising number of health researchers from around the world
have been questioning the benefits of spinal fusion
have been questioning to treat chronic back pain for years.
Professor Harris is one of them.
IAN HARRIS: There's only been a handful of trials,
and those trials, when put together,
don't show a clear benefit of surgery.
Some surgeons are very unlikely to recommend the procedure.
So, when we get practice variation like that,
it tells us that someone's wrong,
that we need more science in medicine.
that we need more science Unfortunately, it's too easy for us.
Because doctors have been put in a position
where we make all the decisions,
it's too easy for us to let these other incentives
it's too easy for us influence our decision-making
and it's too easy for us influence our decision-making
and it's too easy for us just to rely on our own observation.
Private hospitals do more than 70% of spinal fusions.
Private hospitals literally work on turnover.
That's how they make their money.
And many of them are for-profit organisations, so...
When you say 'turnover', what do you mean?
Medical activity,
so, whether that be procedures,
drugs, other interventions.
It drives over treatment because that's what's measured.
You know, "How many knee replacements were done last year?"
"Is that enough? Should we be doing more?"
I get paid to do an operation,
and, so, there's an incentive I get paid to do an operation,
and, so, there's an incentive for me to do more operations.
(GROANS)
TRUDI KING: I'm on this cycle -
pain doctors, neurologists...
It's just.... It's never-ending.
My life is just a full circle of doctors, constant, constant doctors.
Never stops.
It's terrible.
I'm worse now than I was before the surgery. It's terrible.
I'm worse now than I was before the surgery.
Trudi's doctors charged her private health insurance a fortune.
We asked medical billing expert Dr Margaret Faux
to go through Trudi's records.
MARGARET FAUX: I don't have Trudi's full medical records,
but I do have her complete private health records
for the period when she was in hospital.
Those records make it very clear for the period when she was in hospital.
Those records make it very clear
that she was in an intensive care unit on a ventilator
for nearly three weeks.
A number of doctors for nearly three weeks.
A number of doctors came into the intensive care unit
to provide additional services to Trudi.
to provide additional services The services that they billed
are services that require the doctor
to have a discussion are services that require the doctor
to have a discussion with the patient -
not their relatives, not their colleagues - with the patient
because you have to explain treatment to the patient.
Now, I do not understand how it is possible
to have a discussion with an unconscious patient
to have a discussion who is in a coma on a ventilator.
So, those records need to be looked at.
The chronic-pain industry
has become a breeding ground for financial abuse.
Four Corners has obtained one of the largest databases
of private health medical bills for analysis into spinal surgery.
We have access to six private health funds
We have access representing 25% of the industry.
An unfortunate reality in the Medicare system
is what you did in the operating theatre
and what you bill to Medicare
can be two completely different things.
In Australia
medical billing In Australia
medical billing is based on an honour system
medical billing that doctors will bill correctly.
When they lodge a claim with private health funds and Medicare
they are automatically paid
without checking that the services were done.
SIMON PECK: Medical bills are paid on the basis of trust.
It's a trust which is not founded in reality SIMON PECK: Medical bills are paid on the basis of trust.
It's a trust which is not founded in reality
because after a while,
when people realise that they're not being checked up on,
they start first, perhaps, to push the boundaries.
There's an interesting trend there...
Anaesthetist turned medical-fraud investigator Dr Simon Peck
analysed the data of more than 23,000 anonymous patients
analysed the data of more with his Cambridge-based colleagues
using their fraud-detection software.
The same data was also probed
by Sydney-based medical-billing specialist Synapse,
run by Dr Margaret Faux.
The experts looked for red flags
such as inconsistencies in surgery times
recorded by multiple people in the same operating theatre,
recorded by multiple people who all bill separately.
We haven't looked at medical records,
but there are many red flags in this data.
This report suggests that there is a problem with misbilling
and other things in the data.
There were enough discrepancies in time and across the data
for us to be able to spot the outliers.
The findings are gobsmacking.
Anaesthetists, who all bill in short blocks of time,
Anaesthetists, were the worst offenders.
In one health fund
a staggering 87% billed an In one health fund
a staggering 87% billed an anaesthetic time that was much longer
than other people in the same operating theatre.
There are huge discrepancies
between the surgical time There are huge discrepancies
between the surgical time and the anaesthetic time.
They found it was common for each anaesthetist
to charge an extra three to six hours,
to charge an extra and in one case in New South Wales
an anaesthetist and in one case in New South Wales
an anaesthetist billed 14 hours of time
for a surgery their colleagues said lasted less than an hour.
I've looked at data from all around the world,
and I would say the indicators of misbilling
in the data that we were provided with
in the data is at the top end of the scale.
It gets worse.
They were putting these very invasive lines
into major arteries and veins of the body. They were putting these very invasive lines
into major arteries and veins of the body.
It's not like a drip. These are much more serious monitoring lines.
They're putting them into very, very young people,
They're putting them you know, 20-year-olds.
And they're not without risk. They're dangerous.
You know, so,
the incidence of those going in to patients was through the roof.
The use of invasive monitoring to monitor blood pressure
in patients having quite minor procedures.
That's not something I've seen anywhere else.
That's not something Without specific medical records
it's impossible to be conclusive,
but the experts found
"There's a serious fraud, waste and abuse problem
"There's a serious fraud, waste "requiring urgent attention."
They're terms "requiring urgent attention."
They're terms used widely in the industry
and can cover conduct from errors to overservicing to fraud.
They uncovered widespread problems within the pain industry.
More than 20% of the medical bills for spinal surgery
raised serious questions.
And, alarmingly, they found some doctors
were admitting people to ICU who don't need to be there.
And this analysis just looks at one area - spinal surgery.
(SIREN WAILS)
We showed the findings to a team of leading healthcare experts.
I'm Dr Chris Hayes. I'm a pain medicine specialist.
Those findings have really profoundly shocked me.
I'm Ian Harris. I'm professor of orthopaedic surgery
and I've been a surgeon for nearly 30 years.
and I've been a surgeon It's an enormous problem.
There's certainly a lack of oversight. Yeah.
I mean, if it was policed in any kind of way,
then you would find an immediate change in practice.
That's for sure. I mean, it's obvious.
I'm Dr Rachel David.
I'm the CEO I'm Dr Rachel David.
I'm the CEO of Private Healthcare Australia,
which represents health insurance funds.
In this quite narrowly defined treatment area,
if we extrapolated across the whole industry,
we're talking about half a billion dollars
that is being lost to Medicare and private health insurance
as a consequence of the poor billing behaviour.
Are we looking at double exploitation here?
Are we looking MARGARET FAUX: Yes! Definitely.
We are hitting the patient twice.
We are exploiting them clinically
by offering them We are exploiting them clinically
by offering them treatments and procedures
by offering them that can be harmful,
and then a second time financially.
And you can't disconnect those two things
because every clinical service that has to be provided
because every clinical service has to be paid for.
So, you can't disconnect the clinical from the money,
certainly not in a fee-for-service system.
Those two things are inextricably linked.
DAVID IZARD: I had no sense of direction
for nearly 12 months after that.
I just stayed home,
tried to keep the place spotless
'cause that's how Gayle liked it... tried to keep the place spotless
'cause that's how Gayle liked it...
..and had nothing to do with...
..virtually anybody else.
Retired policeman David Izard
is still coming to terms with the sudden loss of his wife of 43 years.
Gayle died after major spinal surgery in 2017.
Her neurosurgeon was Tom Morris,
who has since had conditions placed on him by the regulator,
who has since had conditions but he can still operate.
Do you remember when you first met Mr Morris, what he was like?
Mr Morris was like...
..a knight on a silver steed.
He was just the light.
He was just so confident and...
..yeah, just made you feel
like finally you found someone ..yeah, just made you feel
like finally you found someone after all these years
who will make a difference immediately.
He told us he's very good at his work
and that, for Gayle to have any further surgery,
you would need someone who had performed that type of surgery
you would need someone who had in the past
and who was competent in doing that particular type of surgery
and that he had that experience
and that if anyone could help her
it was him.
He just swept both of us up.
And she was in a lot of pain?
Constant pain. Yes. She'd...
She'd been suffering severe pain for many years.
In '88 it was...
..debilitating and later on it became crippling.
Gayle and David first met Mr Morris in 2017.
He had been qualified as a neurosurgeon since 2016.
a neurosurgeon for quite some time
We assumed that he'd been a neurosurgeon for quite some time
because the procedure he was talking about
because the procedure we knew was going to be difficult.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Gayle was in poor health, (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Gayle was in poor health, making her higher risk for surgery.
Mr Morris performed four major surgeries on her over seven months,
three of them over an eight-week period. Mr Morris performed four major surgeries on her over seven months,
three of them over an eight-week period.
ALISON SPECK: Which was quite a huge undertaking
because she was having Which was quite a huge undertaking
because she was having
from her thoracic spine down to her pelvis entirely fused.
It's quite a significant undertaking.
Something went horribly wrong.
I got a phone call from Tom to say that everything had gone well.
I got another phone call from Tom
to say that Gayle had had a catastrophic brain injury.
"Get in here, she's not going to make it."
Former neurosurgical nurse and lawyer Alison Speck
is running a medical-negligence case against Mr Morris.
There's two main allegations of negligence.
The first is that it was actually unreasonable
to have recommended that procedure in the first place
to have recommended that procedure and performed it on Gayle.
And the second is an issue of consent.
Multiple hospital records show
in the days before surgery Gayle got cold feet.
Hours before the operation
she told a nurse of her doubts.
Their nursing staff
noting that Gayle has said to them
words to the effect of, "She's scared.
words to the effect of, "She wants to call the surgery off.
"She doesn't want go ahead.
"She's frightened."
And that they would notify Mr Morris.
We don't know if that message was passed on to Mr Moris.
But then she has the surgery.
She had the surgery. But then she has the surgery.
She had the surgery.
There's nothing in the notes
to suggest that Mr Morris There's nothing in the notes
to suggest that Mr Morris spoke to her or attended
because there's nothing in the progress notes from him.
In his legal defence
Mr Morris says he discussed the risks In his legal defence
Mr Morris says he discussed the risks with Gayle and David.
Mr Morris says he discussed the risks He denies medical negligence
and says Gayle didn't withdraw consent.
Medical records show he'd outlined the risks of surgery to Gayle.
Mr Morris says he also received
messages of gratitude from David Izard after Gayle's death,
and he says he's never financially motivated
and he says when doing surgical interventions.
Gayle wasn't Mr Morris's only poor outcome
according to a 2021 decision by Victorian tribunal VCAT.
It found "he poses a serious risk."
VCAT documents show
he operated on the wrong part of an 81-year-old's spine VCAT documents show
he operated on the wrong part of an 81-year-old's spine
at a regional hospital in 2018, of an 81-year-old's spine
at a regional hospital in 2018,
with surgical complications
and it noted 22 patients with surgical complications
at Epworth, Richmond, with surgical complications
at Epworth, Richmond,
between 2017 and early 2018.
Epworth's notes say he was reluctant
to reduce the number of spinal surgeries.
ALISON SPECK: So, you can see from the VCAT judgement
that they think Mr Morris poses a risk to the public as a surgeon,
and they took immediate action
to make sure that there are restrictions
on his practising certificate, essentially,
on his practising certificate, what he can and can't do.
VCAT heard that Epworth didn't impose any restrictions on Mr Morris.
It tried to deal with him internally,
but he resigned in June 2018.
Just a few months later
there were more Just a few months later
there were more patient complications,
there were more this time at St Vincent's.
They reported him to the regulator, AHPRA.
They reported him to the regulator, Epworth declined to answer questions,
but said patient safety Epworth declined to answer questions,
but said patient safety is a priority.
I understand that they undertook their own review
following some quite significant and awful outcomes there,
and that sort of triggered AHPRA to investigate
and that sort of triggered AHPRA and, therefore, impose restrictions.
A VCAT ruling allows him to still operate as a surgeon,
but under his current restrictions he must consult with a supervisor.
He's also allowed to be a surgical assistant.
He's also allowed Mr Morris declined to be interviewed.
There's some obvious cowboys out there.
Unfortunately, we met one.
Mr Morris's medical billing
was also flagged in the VCAT documents by experts,
which he disputed.
We asked Dr Faux to look at Gayle's health bills.
MARGARET FAUX: Gayle's records raised the most concerns for me.
So, this included MARGARET FAUX: Gayle's records raised the most concerns for me.
So, this included
billing for surgical procedures
that may not have been performed
and billing for hospital visits
when there is no evidence in the and billing for hospital visits
when there is no evidence in the record that those visits took place.
when there is no evidence in the And, in fact, on one date
Gayle wasn't even in hospital,
yet a hospital visit was billed and paid,
and it needs to be further investigated.
DAVID IZARD: It's just not the same.
It never will be.
Sure, I've got some friends, but I miss my mate.
We just saw that ray of light and thought, "You beauty,
"there's the tunnel, there's a light at the end of it."
But it was just a train that came down and whacked us so hard.
For the last six months
I've been investigating the pain industry,
I've been investigating and what's alarmed me most
has been the slowness of the regulators,
who are supposed to keep patients safe.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA,
regulates medical devices.
It runs a database
that tracks harmful and negative patient outcomes.
The TGA says there's been more than 2,000 adverse-event reports
related to spinal-cord stimulators.
Does that sound high to you?
Yeah, look, it does. It sounds alarming to me. Does that sound high to you?
Yeah, look, it does. It sounds alarming to me.
The last major scandal that we've dealt with
in terms of medical implants
was the use of hernia mesh for pelvic organ prolapse in women.
was the use of hernia mesh For mesh over the same period
there were 224 adverse events For mesh over the same period
there were 224 adverse events reported,
and that, as we know now, was a major scandal
in which a number of patients came to harm.
We also uncovered vast underreporting.
One of the biggest device companies, Medtronics,
One of the biggest device companies, had fewer than 10 adverse events
related to its spinal-cord had fewer than 10 adverse events
related to its spinal-cord stimulators
related to its spinal-cord in the database over a decade.
We asked the private health funds to run the numbers.
We looked at 764 Medtronic generators
that were...or stimulators that were implanted,
that were...or stimulators and, of those, 30% were revised
or required some sort of premature surgical intervention
to reset them within the first three years,
which would be either that the device was replaced
which would be either or a lead was replaced.
Australian sponsors of medical devices
are legally required to report adverse events to the TGA,
but the TGA has never taken any action
for failures to report an adverse event
relating to spinal-cord stimulators.
Medtronics denies underreporting and says it follows the TGA rules.
We can't find evidence that Teresa or Gordon's stimulator horror stories
We can't find evidence that Teresa were ever reported.
The device companies won't comment on individual patients.
They say their devices are safe and abide by the law.
I can't understand why the TGA haven't done more.
I can't understand I can't understand
why the stimulator companies
don't ring up people like me
or even get me down to their big fancy offices
and say, well, you know, "What are the symptoms you've had?
"How do we improve this?"
All that sort of stuff.
The job of the regulator is to keep people safe.
When it comes to spinal-cord stimulators
its performance has been appalling.
Its own database is littered with people who've been hurt
Its own database is littered by a device they believe is safe.
The regulator launched a review,
but that was two years ago
and we're still waiting.
We asked the TGA for an interview, but it couldn't make the time.
In a statement it said approval of a device
is based on the available evidence at the time.
is based on the available evidence It said patient safety is a priority.
It's no surprise
some private pain clinics are making a fortune from stimulators,
and the funds paying for them aren't happy.
You're representing the private health funds.
Many people would see them as making big profits.
Many people would see them They were up 110% last year
while premiums are going up,
and people are complaining that while premiums are going up,
and people are complaining that they're not getting as many services
and people are complaining that for what they're paying for.
How do you answer those sort of criticisms?
I'm absolutely confident How do you answer those sort of criticisms?
I'm absolutely confident
that the health funds would spend even more money
that the health funds if they knew
that it was on treatments that were working.
What we're seeing with what we ARE spending
is that it is simply putting people on a hamster wheel
of more treatment, hospital admissions and revision surgery.
That is not a good investment in people's care.
Pain specialist Dr Chris Hayes
stopped implanting stimulators 20 years ago.
stopped implanting stimulators CHRIS HAYES: I found that people
were just not making CHRIS HAYES: I found that people
were just not making good improvements,
were just not making and, to my mind,
nothing substantial has changed in the scientific evidence
over the last 20 years
other than to reinforce the view
that this hasn't got good evidence to support it
and that there is a substantial risk of harm.
The pain industry is...
..an interesting place in Australia.
It is a bit of a jungle ..an interesting place in Australia.
It is a bit of a jungle in some ways.
JASON PARKER: I just managed to find a way to see a life
without depending on anything to support my pain.
My desire was to live with colour and joy.
That had all been removed
by the spinal-cord stimulator,
the opioids, the nerve pain,
the injections, the steroids, the...everything else.
So, the only way I was going to come out of that
was find a way to leave those behind.
Jason Parker felt like a prisoner
trapped inside the pain industry for years.
trapped inside the pain industry Now he's finally made it out.
So, when was the turning point?
Um...
When I got the machine out.
Jason's medical history is harrowing.
He was in a terrible car accident,
leaving him in agony.
He later lost his legs to an infection.
He later lost his legs He's had the works -
surgeries, stimulators,
spinal fusion.
A lot of people are making an awful lot of money out of people's misery.
I just was wasting away in a bedroom, essentially.
The financial impact of not being able to work
The financial impact meant you had to go on the dole,
so, I was in my parents' third bedroom.
I lost my house.
I went...
Everything gone.
Jason had 10 spinal-cord stimulator operations over five years.
I was expecting him to say, "Listen, mate, this ain't working.
"Let's just call it quits,
"and I'm not going to put you through anymore."
But it was always there was another thing he could do to fix it.
Do you think it was the worst decision of your life?
Do you think it was Absolutely.
They're Frankenstein machines.
They are not built for the human body.
And it's sold as the dream.
It's sold as the "We've got your answer."
Now, I sometimes feel
that the answer was provided
because I had the highest medical cover.
It's been a year since Jason had his stimulator removed.
It's been a year since I still am in pain,
but I've learned to live and understand
but I've learned how my body deals with pain.
I hope that somebody is out there
going, "You know what? Maybe I won't take that step first."
What's clear -
this industry What's clear -
this industry can't cure chronic pain,
this industry but over-treatment is rife
as the vulnerable seek hope
and some unscrupulous practitioners as the vulnerable seek hope
and some unscrupulous practitioners see opportunity.
There is a big business element to this,
given that one in five Australians or thereabouts
given that one in five Australians experience chronic pain.
It could be said they're walking experience chronic pain.
It could be said they're walking around with a big dollar sign
It could be said they're walking hanging around their neck.
IAN HARRIS: I find that chronic pain is not well-treated
by cutting people and operating on them.
So, you have to start thinking more scientifically and objectively
So, you have to start thinking before offering the treatment.
But there's no... before offering the treatment.
But there's no... there's no policing of that.
I can offer a spine fusion on every patient that comes to see me
with a degenerative disc in their back.
Nobody's going to stop me from doing that.
And there's little appetite
to change a system desperate for reform.
And are you in pain now?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
Always.
I was a victim to it.
It's just the most horrific thing.
The only peace I get is when I'm asleep.
It really has destroyed our lives.
DAVID IZARD: Once you get on that merry-go-round,
it's extremely difficult to get off.
Don't do it. Don't do it.
Why does all of this matter? What's so important about it?
MARGARET FAUX: It matters because it depletes our health system
MARGARET FAUX: It matters because of the money it needs,
and it's a patient-safety issue.
It's both.
So, it's misappropriation of funds
and you're putting patients at risk.
So, it matters a great deal.
If we don't keep shining a light
into this very dark part of the health system,
into this very dark part it will soon collapse.
It's littered with waste and abuse.
And I think Australians deserve to know the truth.
Don't you?
TERESA BURBERY: It's left me in worse pain
TERESA BURBERY: than I could ever have imagined.
It's taken my mobility.
It's taken my business.
Taken my career.
Taken my dignity at times.
Taken relationships.
And it's been the biggest injustice that I've ever faced in my life.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation