Healthy Skepticism Library item: 18405

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

Hopkins Tanne J
US teaching hospitals must address conflicts of interest, leadership group says
BMJ 2010 July 6; 340:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/341/jul06_2/c3605

Abstract:

The Association of American Medical Colleges called on US teaching hospitals to set policies regarding financial relationships between doctors and the drug and device industry so that they do not influence patient care.

The association represents all 133 accredited US and 17 Canadian medical schools and nearly 400 teaching hospitals, as well as academic and scientific societies. Through these connections it represents 128 000 faculty members, 75 000 medical students, and 110 000 resident physicians. The report was prepared by a task force convened last year.

In a teleconference Dr Joanne Conroy, the association’s chief medical officer, said that institutions should develop systems to address conflicts of interest in clinical care to protect patients. Fewer than 1% of institutions had such policies, she said, although institutions may have policies about faculty relationships with industry.

The association defined a conflict of interest as “a set of circumstances that creates a risk . . .