Guidant Corporation: Disclosure or non Disclosure? Dilemmas in the Pacemaker Industry

Guidant Corporation is a high-tech startup producing medical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators and coronary stent systems. Toward the middle of 2002, Guidant discovers that some of its pacemakers and defibrillators, which had been sold and implanted in thousands of patients, had a technical problem and could fail to deliver an electric shock when one was needed. The company faces the dilemma of whether or not to disclose the information to patients and doctors (as legislation only requires information disclosure to the FDA) and the consequent reaction of relevant stakeholders.