Study Finds DOJ Probe into Implantable Defibrillators Correlates with Decrease in the Device's Use

​A probe by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) correlated with significant decreases in both the implantation of primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and the proportion of ICDs failing to meet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) coverage criteria, found a study published in the July 3, 2018 issue of JAMA. The findings held even for groups of patients who were not the investigation's focus. The federal investigation, which began in 2010, stirred up "a firestorm of controversy," according to a related editorial published in the same issue of JAMA.