America has the world’s most technically sophisticated healthcare infrastructure, but surgical procedures have been the third leading cause of death and the vast majority of high-risk invasive products never undergo a single clinical trial. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering (THE INVISIBLE WAR, THE HUNTING GROUND) nominated filmmakers to set their attention on the $400 billion medical device industry in THE BLEEDING EDGE, investigating weak laws, corporate cover-ups and profit-driven opportunities that place patients at everyday risk. Weaving emotionally compelling tales of people whose lives were irrevocably destroyed, the film asks: What life-saving technology can potentially destroy us?
There have been a few companies that have declined to exchange details with Netflix, including Bayer as well as Johnsons and Johnsons, those firms that in the past developed medical instruments and appliances that are considered to cause users problems. Because of these apps sometimes consumers feel signs and hurt without even understanding what triggers them. Unfortunately, if some harm was done to the consumer due to the tool, the injury will more certainly be permanent, causing a long-lasting wound. The worst thing about it all is that, back then, it happens under government inspection. People are still suffering irreversible damage while those same businesses are making a lot of money.
The biggest issue is the FDA’s efforts to protect people from violence by these companies. The FDA was among the companies that failed to answer the filmmakers’ questions regarding the entire issue of harmful devices (The Bleeding Edge). This is an event that should not exist in an age in which human life should be preserved at all costs. To the public, this is a tragic tale and a sorry state of the agency entrusted with the responsibility of protecting customers from pharmaceutical firms’ unscrupulous behavior. The hip replacement system is a direct indication of firms’ unethical actions in selling medical products without either checking them for the reliability or providing reduced output equipment (The Bleeding Edge). It is unfortunate that these companies are engaged in corruption and putting the lives of innocent people at risk. The FDA needs to step up and diligently do its duty as this behavior has to stop now.
