Report Misconduct
At the ACR, members are obligated to uphold professionalism, honesty and transparency, and to report any instances of misconduct that compromise patient care or professional ethics.1
Scenario: Consider Dr. Williams, an oncologist serving on a committee tasked with evaluating cancer treatment protocols. Among his colleagues is Ms. Thompson, employed by a pharmaceutical company specializing in cancer medications. Throughout committee meetings, Dr. Williams observes her subtly attempting to influence decisions in favor of her company’s products, despite limited evidence supporting their efficacy.
Dr. Williams recognizes the COI inherent in Ms. Thompson’s affiliation. He documents instances of her attempts to sway committee decisions and reports her behavior to relevant regulatory bodies. The committee addresses the issue, emphasizing the importance of maintaining impartiality. Ms. Thompson is reminded of her obligation to uphold professional standards, and measures are implemented to prevent future incidents.
By reporting misconduct, Dr. Williams ensures decisions within the committee are made in the best interests of patients, rather than influenced by commercial motives. He sets a positive example for his colleagues, reinforcing the integrity of the medical profession.
Demonstrate Concern for Research Subjects
The ACR’s Code of Ethics requires demonstration of the same care and concern for the well-being of research subjects as for patients with whom we provide clinical care in a therapeutic relationship.1
Scenario: As an investigator in a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Dr. Lee is sometimes called on to perform a joint count on a study subject. This occurs during her clinic time. She is often faced with having both a study subject and her clinic patient waiting to see her at the same time. Dr. Lee faces a difficult decision: Whom should she prioritize? The patient she knows well, whom she will see again in the future and who was scheduled to see her? Or the study participant who took time out of their day to volunteer for the study and is now waiting for her in a cramped research room?
It is often easier to first attend to the patient we know and have an ongoing therapeutic relationship with. However, according to the principles underlying the Code of Ethics, we ought to provide the same beneficence (i.e., acting for the benefit of the patient), nonmaleficence (i.e., not harming the patient—in this case by not wasting the commodity of their time and possibly money) and justice (i.e., providing fair, equitable and appropriate treatment) to both individuals.2 They each have equal claim on us, as the Code of Ethics reminds us.
