DHHS Consultation
So it looks like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is thinking about redoing its COI policy: HHS Considers Revising Financial Conflict-of-Interest Rules. According to this story, the NIH will be soliciting comments on the following topics:
• expansion of the scope of the regulation and disclosure of interests;
• definition of “significant financial interest”;
• identification and management of conflicts by institutions;
• assurance of institutional compliance;
• provision of additional information to federal officials by research institutions; and
• broadening of the regulations to address institutional conflicts of interest
Given the ambiguity of current US Federal guidelines (particularly with regards to “Significant Financial Interests”), a broad public consultation and review can only be a good thing.