The Growth of TAVR and the Capitalist Creed

Jaya Mallidi, MD, MHS

Wearing our masks, we sat at one of the metallic picnic tables on the patio of our newly constructed medical office building. The corporate business vibe made me uneasy.

I wore my baggy blue scrubs, having just come from the cath lab after performing a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The product manager for a TAVR valve, whom I will call Mike*, was in his dark blue suit with matching tie.

I agreed to the meeting because I was eager to better understand the business aspect of TAVR procedures. Given their high cost, the profit margin is low for each procedure from the hospital perspective. To run a financially sustainable TAVR program, the hospital administrative team and the physicians work closely to reduce the length of stay by adopting a minimally invasive approach without use of general anesthesia, and to reduce the overall complication rates. Thankfully, these cost-saving measures also enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction. A win-win for all, it appears.

Mike, with his flair for the sales pitch, described the excellent patient outcomes with his product and how our hospital, as part of a bigger hospital chain system, contracted with his company to buy the valves in bulk at a cheaper price.