Richard N. Fogoros
PER
Richard N. Fogoros Fogoros Dr. Fogoros
In two lengthy memos written just before Guidant was swamped by controversy, the consultant, Dr. Richard N. Fogoros, also told company executives that their decision to withhold such data, while statistically defensible, was questionable. He wrote in one memo that Guidant, while believing it was acting in the patients' best interest, had violated a sacred obligation it had to doctors by interposing its medical judgment for theirs. He also noted that Guidant had a clear conflict of interest that would naturally lead it to disclose product failures only when absolutely necessary. He wrote in a memo dated May 18, 2005: that this this conflict is not tacit; it is obvious for all to see, which means that when a tragedy occurs, their decisions will be viewed in the harshest light possible, without any objective consideration of the statistical niceties supporting our actions.