Avoiding real and apparent conflicts of interest is a fundamental principle of guideline development, but what should we do when every thought leader is conflicted? An example of this conundrum in rheumatology has been the ACR’s ongoing effort to establish guidelines for the management of lupus nephritis, which has been stymied by the fact that…
Karen Onel, MD, new chair of ACR’s Committee on Ethics & Conflict of Interest, brings a longstanding interest in issues related to ethics and consent.
Recognizing that situations involving ties with the pharmaceutical industry and conflicts of interest are often not black and white, the ACR’s Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest has collected feedback on four ethically challenging scenarios to gauge how rheumatology providers think about them. The survey generated responses that were often mixed, showing that when…
A senior rheumatologist with extensive experience in the management of systemic lupus erythematosus is asked to help draft clinical guidelines for the treatment of lupus nephritis. Neither she nor her family members receive grant funding nor does she consult with any pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies. She does have strong clinical opinions based on current evidence…
We have all been to numerous lectures, grand rounds and other continuing medical education activities where the speaker, prepared and poised at the podium, begins his lecture with a title slide. Soon after, we see the ubiquitous conflicts of interest slide, which lists the invited speaker’s research funding, his consulting activities and his board memberships—all…
(Reuters Health)—Some cancer doctors use Twitter to promote drugs manufactured by companies that pay them, but they almost never disclose their conflicts of interest on the social media platform, a new study shows. “This is a big problem,” says senior author Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “Doctors…
(Reuters Health)—An examination of more than 100 of the largest U.S. nonprofit organizations created to improve health and fight disease has found that more than 8 in 10 get financial support from companies involved in the drug, biotechnology and medical device industry. In addition, over a third have at least one industry official on their…
Several well-publicized episodes highlight the apparent lack of disclosure of conflicts of interest in medicine, but will disclosure laws fix the problem or add to the confusion?
Transparency in industry relationships
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world because it recognizes individuals and organizations that promote the causes of peace and human rights. In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi received this prize for her courageous work in advancing democracy in the Republic of Myanmar. Because of her leadership of the democracy movement in Myanmar, the military regime that governs that country has gone to great lengths to gag her. Indeed, she has been under house arrest for most of the last two decades since she received the Peace Prize. An outpouring of support for Aung San Suu Kyi and demands for her freedom by human rights advocates and Western governments have sadly been to no avail.