Conflict-of-Interest.net » Bryn Williams-Jones

Veterinary medicine – presentation

Bryn Williams-Jones — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:28:56 +0000

Below is a presentation, in French, by one of my Masters students — Charles Marsan — who’s doing his research COI in the context of veterinary medicine, with a particular focus on small animal (pets) practice.

News Roundup

Bryn Williams-Jones — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:36:26 +0000

Here’re some news stories that caught my eye:

Setting standards and medical guidelines

A conflict of interest? (Irish Times) – DSM, mental health research, big pharma, and downstream access to appropriate medication
EMA tightens conflict of interest rules (InPharm) – European medicines policy, managing expert COI in science advising
Guidelines Panellists’ Conflict Of Interest Raises Concern (Medical News Today) – Pervasiveness among scientists and expert advisors
FDA Panel Conflict Of Interest Restrictions Too Stringent Say Senators (Medical News Today) – Can restrictions on expert involvement be too tight?
Conflict of Interest in USDA Nutrition Guidelines, Doctors Say (International Business Times) – Who sets food standards, determine what people eat?

Transitioning from Academic to Decision Maker

Esty speaking fees generate conflict-of-interest questions (Register Citizen) – academic speakers fees, science in the public space, transition from research to government

Policy Updates

HHS revises financial conflict of interest rules for researchers (Ortho SuperSite) – updates on disclosure, financial thresholds
Conflict of interest policy under review (The Brown Daily Herald) – managing financial COI, beyond medical research

Recognising COI

Bryn Williams-Jones — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:43:10 +0000

Here’s a short (6min) and entertaining TED talk by Dan Ariely — Beware Conflicts of Interest — on recognizing COI in our professional and research lives. The important point that he makes is that sometimes COI appear obvious, even egregious, while at other times we may not even recognize their presence, until we have time to reflect on why we have behaved a certain way or made certain choices. So a first step, then, in dealing with COI is recognizing that they exist…

Tools for writing a COI policy

Bryn Williams-Jones — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:47:57 +0000

As I’ve commented on numerous occasions, good COI policies are an important (if not sufficient) means of supporting staff and creating an environment where COI are actively managed, not hidden or ignored. A good starting point is this tool — Writing a Conflict of Interest Policy — developed by Chris MacDonald, who’s an expert in business ethics (Businessethicsblog.com) with significant research and consultation experience developing codes of ethics and addressing COI situations (e.g., Conflict of Interest for Mayors (and Other Committee Chairs)). As Chris notes,

All kinds of organizations need a Conflict of Interest policy. Experience suggests that many people have only a vague idea of what Conflict of Interest is, or how to deal with it. And yet dealing properly with COI is crucial to maintaining organizational integrity and reputation. A well-written policy is a great place to start.

On the limits of disclosure

Bryn Williams-Jones — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:29:37 +0000

The following article in the Boston Globe (Deeply conflicted) gives a wonderful overview of the fascinating psychological and economic research being conducted by Daylian Cain, Don Moore and George Loewenstein on the limits of disclosure as an effective mechanism for managing COI (see also their excellent 2005 book: Conflicts of Interest: Challenges and Solutions in Business, Law, Medicine, and Public Policy).

The take home message is that in many situations, disclosure not only does not eliminate the COI, but it can make the conflict even worse because 1) the party receiving the disclosure of COI (a patient, members of a committee) may be even less inclined to be critical of the person disclosing, and 2) by disclosing their COI, people may feel (unconsciously) that they’ve dealt with the issue and can even behave less ethically. The result is that in some circumstances, disclosure might simply not work in managing COI and reducing the associate harms or risks.

Furthermore, as Moore admits, in some cases the high costs of eliminating conflicts of interest may not be worth the effort. But in circumstances where conflicts cause harm, changing the system could be worthwhile. Regulators, Moore says, need to look for ways to structure systems so that experts’ personal interests are matched with the interests of those they are helping. “Restructuring to align interests is difficult,” he says, “but when you do it, it can be beautiful.”