Decoding disclosure: comparing conflict of interest policy among the United States, France, and Australia

"Sunshine" policy, aimed at making financial ties between health professionals and industry publicly transparent, has recently gone global. Given that transparency is not the sole means of managing conflict of interest, and is unlikely to be effective on its own, it is important to understand why disclosure has emerged as a predominant public policy solution, and what the effects of this focus on transparency might be. We used Carol Bacchi\u27s problem-questioning approach to policy analysis to compare the Sunshine policies in three different jurisdictions, the United States, France and Australia. We found that transparency had emerged as a solution to several different problems including misuse of tax dollars, patient safety and public trust. Despite these differences in the origins of disclosure policies, all were underpinned by the questionable assumption that informed consumers could address conflicts of interest. We conclude that, while transparency reports have provided an unprecedented opportunity to understand the reach of industry within healthcare, policymakers should build upon these insights and begin to develop policy solutions that address systemic commercial influence

Medical Education and Financial Conflict of Interest Relationships with the Pharmaceutical Industry in Canada: An Analysis of Four Areas of Medical Education

Financial conflict of interest (FCOI) relationships in medicine have been found to expose medical education in medical schools, medical journals, and continuing medical education (CME) hosted by professional medical associations (PMAs) to vulnerability to corporate bias. Institutional policy analysis concerning FCOI relationships and industry involvement in medical education in Canada is limited. Therefore, informed by neoliberal corporate bias theory and Mertonian norms of science, this dissertation contributes analyses of conflict of interest policies, disclosures, and opportunities for drug company involvement in the production and dissemination of medical knowledge. In a publication-based dissertation format, the first manuscript provides an evaluation of conflict of interest policies at the 17 medical schools in Canada. The second manuscript provides an analysis of the culture of corporate science, informed by neoliberal ideology, through an examination of the extensive and pervasive roles of the drug promotion industry in clinical trial research, interpretation, writing, and publishing in medical journals. The third manuscript offers an evaluation of policies concerning FCOI relationships and industry involvement in CME development and programming adopted by 60 professional medical associations in Canada. The fourth and final manuscript comprises an quantitative analysis of FCOI relationship disclosures in Canadian clinical practice guidelines. In general, these evaluative efforts found that the policy environment concerning industry involvement in various types of medical education in Canada is permissive and FCOI relationships are common among guideline authors. Positioned within the context of neoliberal corporate bias theory and Mertonian norms of science, these findings of general policy permissiveness indicate an alignment of goals between the pharmaceutical industry and medical education institutions. The necessity for increased transparency in terms of industrys roles in not only conducting, analyzing, interpreting, and publishing pharmaceutical research, but also data sharing is supported by existing literature on financial conflict of interest relationships with the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, the strengthening and enforcement of policies on industry involvement and FCOI relationships in these areas of medical education would help to ensure that medical education in the publics interest is achieved

Salix shiraii Seemen

原著和名: シラヰヤナギ科名: ヤナギ科 = Salicaceae採集地: 栃木県 日光市 東照宮裏〜雲竜入口 (下野 日光 東照宮裏〜雲竜入口)採集日: 1980/10/10採集者: 萩庭丈壽整理番号: JH006774国立科学博物館整理番号: TNS-VS-95677

Too Few, Too Weak: Conflict of Interest Policies at Canadian Medical Schools

<div><p>Introduction</p><p>The education of medical students should be based on the best clinical information available, rather than on commercial interests. Previous research looking at university-wide conflict of interest (COI) policies used in Canadian medical schools has shown very poor regulation. An analysis of COI policies was undertaken to document the current policy environment in all 17 Canadian medical schools.</p><p>Methods</p><p>A web search was used to initially locate COI policies supplemented by additional information from the deans of each medical school. Strength of policies was rated on a scale of 0 to 2 in 12 categories and also on the presence of enforcement measures. For each school, we report scores for all 12 categories, enforcement measures, and summative scores.</p><p>Results</p><p>COI policies received summative scores that ranged from 0 to 19, with 0 the lowest possible score obtainable and 24 the maximum. The highest mean scores per category were for disclosure and ghostwriting (0.9) and for gifts and scholarships (0.8).</p><p>Discussion</p><p>This study provides the first comprehensive evaluation of all 17 Canadian medical school-specific COI policies. Our results suggest that the COI policy environment at Canadian medical schools is generally permissive. Policy development is a dynamic process. We therefore encourage all Canadian medical schools to develop restrictive COI policies to ensure that their medical students are educated based on the best clinical evidence available, free of industry biases and COI relationships that may influence the future medical thinking and prescribing practices of medical students in Canada once they graduate.</p></div

Medical schools and scoring for individual category.

<p>Medical schools and scoring for individual category.</p

Policies per school and date of each policy.

*<p>S = School-specific policy.</p>†<p>U = University-wide policy.</p