17 Jan Conflicts of Interest In Medical Guideline Committees Underreported
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Akilah Jefferson
Akilah Jefferson, MD, MSc
Postdoctoral Fellow, Clinical Center, Department of Bioethics
Clinical Fellow, Allergy and Immunology
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The guidelines that we looked at in this study were two that resulted in large paradigm shifts. Given their impact, we thought the question of conflicts of interest, which has been problematic among specialty societies in the past, be looked into.
We found that the levels of conflicts of interest among both guideline committees was problematic, and that conflict of interest disclosures often did not match contemporaneous conflict of interest disclosures in published articles.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: We want to highlight the need for broader and more explicit adoption of Institute of Medicine (IOM) standards for conflict of interest management.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: We recommend further research into how specialty societies are adopting Institute of Medicine standards, and barriers to adoption. Some work has highlighted how some specialty societies are successfully avoiding conflicts of interest among their guideline writing groups.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: We hope that our study leads to positive discussions about this topic, and adoption of more standard and transparent methods of conflict of interest disclosure among specialty societies.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
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Last Updated on January 17, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD