Marketing Versus Science: A Fight Between Necessary Evil and Stern Good Over the Adoption of New Technology in Medicine

Early one Monday morning, while making rounds in the ward, I stopped by the presurgical center and visited Bill, who was being readied to have surgery for prostate cancer. He asked half jokingly—and half anxiously—if I’d had a good night’s sleep. ‘‘Let me see those steady hands,’’ said Jane, his lovely wife, who was seated at his bedside. ‘‘You must play the piano, ‘‘she added. I reassured both of them and headed to the operating room. Normal...