Study Reports Gaps In Institutional Conflicts Of Interest Policies

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 13 Feb 2008 - 16:00 PDT

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The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) said that while a new study (JAMA, Feb. 13) documents that medical schools are facing challenges in implementing institutional financial conflicts of interest policies, it continues to work with leaders of the nation's universities to address this issue. A new joint report from the AAMC and the Association of American Universities to be released early this spring will provide a roadmap to help institutions develop and implement effective institutional conflicts of interest policies.

"Bringing new treatments and cures to patients is critically dependent on a partnership in which medical schools and universities conduct basic research and various industries turn their discoveries into new therapies and diagnostic tools for patients," said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "Conflicts of interest policies are essential to assure that these interactions remain principled and are conducted within a rigorous, transparent, ethical, and credible framework in order to protect research integrity, the well-being of human research participants, and the trust the public places in us."

Implementing comprehensive financial conflicts of interest management programs that encompass the entire academic institution is a complex and challenging undertaking because of the enormous range and complexity of financial relationships between today's universities, medical schools, teaching hospitals, and diverse industries. To put these policies into action, highly integrated trans-institutional databases and management systems are required to track the multitude of frequently changing institutional financial holdings. Procedures are also needed to systematically evaluate these interests and determine which of them may pose conflicts of interest in the conduct of particular research projects involving human participants.

The study, undertaken by the AAMC and Massachusetts General Hospital, provides the first national data on medical school policies and practices for dealing with institutional financial conflicts of interest. While results revealed that as of 2006 only 38 percent of the medical schools surveyed had policies addressing potential conflicts of interest arising from their own institutional financial interests, a much higher percentage of schools (71 percent) have adopted COI policies that address potential conflicts arising from the financial interests of senior institutional officials, such as presidents, vice presidents and deans, and 81 percent have adopted policies for members of institutional review boards.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 126 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at http://www.aamc.org/newsroom.

Association of American Medical Colleges

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