Friday, January 23, 2009

DCRI voluntary financial disclosures highlighted as part of growing trend
By Kelly Winget, DCRI Communications

Clinicians and researchers often have financial agreements with industry sources that can include speaking and consulting fees, travel fees, continuing medical education costs, and more. But there is no consistent method of reporting potential financial conflicts of interest and no standards for what information should be reported. Various research centers, including the DCRI, have begun voluntarily posting financial disclosures on public Web sites.

An editorial that appeared in the January 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine highlighted the importance of revealing disclosures in a timely manner to demonstrate that the information is not being hidden from the public. The editorial referenced the DCRI faculty's voluntary Conflict of Interest disclosure site ( http://www.dcri.org/research/coi.jsp ) and the types of disclosures that are listed on the site.

The DCRI is one of a handful of medical centers and research organizations that are publicly addressing financial disclosures, an issue that has come under public scrutiny after reports that a number of prominent physicians have not accurately reported financial ties to the industry.

Several companies, such as Merck, will also begin disclosing some payments to physicians on their Web sites. Congress is also considering creating a federal Web site for physicians to disclose many industry gifts or payments that they receive. The bill is known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.

The editorial notes that industry funding is vital for many clinical trials and to help support drug and device development, but without requirements to make that information public, the integrity of physicians could be called into question.

Click here to read the full editorial and the author's thoughts on how conflict of interest disclosures can be improved.