Okay, let’s make one thing clear right away: This is not a business report; this is an opinionated post about how Wall Street analysts are apparently more important than dying patients.

The back story is, just the other day I read an article in the New York Times titled Cardiologist Issues Alert on St. Jude Heart Device, and since I was unable to leave a comment to the authors, Barry Meier and Katie Thomas, I’ll do it here.

But, first of all, let me quote from the article:

A cardiologist who studies the safety of heart devices said surgeons should stop using a component sold by St. Jude Medical until more is known about the long-term safety of the device.

The cardiologist, Dr. Robert G. Hauser of Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, made his comments as a study he conducted was published online. His research suggests that a proprietary material used by St. Jude to coat wires that connect an implanted defibrillator to a patient’s heart is breaking down prematurely and, in some cases, leading to failure of the device. The study was published by EP Europace, a British cardiology journal.

The New York Times – August 21, 2012

So, what’s wrong with this picture? After all, somebody, with a very admirable effort, raised a concern and thus might save the lives of many patients with a heart problem. Wrong! You’re missing the picture! The victims are not the patients but St. Jude Medical, its stockholders, and, most shockingly, a number of Wall Street Analysts. After all, Mr. Meier and Ms. Thomas wrote a business related article. The well-being of patients may be insinuated between the lines, but their concern is the impact on St. Jude Medical’s performance on Wall Street.

The article if filled with comments like: The … report has been highly anticipated by doctors and Wall Street analysts… Wall Street analysts have anxiously monitored coverage… St. Jude’s stock fell more than 4 percent… but has largely recovered since then. On Tuesday, shares of St. Jude fell 21 cents, to $37.96.

The question that comes to mind is, are the New York Times reporters, Barry Meier and Katie Thomas, actually aware of the irony? Is Wall Street, in fact, more important than the lives of approximately 278,000 patients?