Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17816

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Rockey SJ, Collins FS
Managing Financial Conflict of Interest in Biomedical Research
JAMA 2010 May 24; 303:(23):
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/jama.2010.774v1

Abstract:

As the nation’s biomedical research agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must ensure that the research it funds on the behalf of US taxpayers is scientifically rigorous and free of bias. Over the course of more than 65 years and hundreds of thousands of awards, most researchers receiving funds from NIH have proved to be trustworthy stewards. Still, more must be done to retain, and in some instances regain, public trust in the biomedical and behavioral research enterprise.

The public may not always understand the intricacies of rigorous science, but most individuals quickly grasp the concept of bias. Plain and simple, Americans do not want financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) to influence the federally funded research they hope will yield better ways to fight disease and improve health.

Managing FCOI in biomedical and behavioral research, however, can prove to be . . .