Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2617

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Recker RR.
Disclosure of authors' conflicts of interest - A follow-up (2nd of 4 letters)
New England Journal of Medicine 2000 Jul 13; 343:(2):146
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/343/2/146

Abstract:

The Journal ‘s policy on financial conflicts of interest seems too restrictive. The authors most qualified to write Drug Therapy articles are usually the same ones chosen to participate in the development of drugs. Thus, it would seem that the Journal ‘s policy reduces the quality of reviews by disqualifying the best authors. Why should the editors assume that persons involved in the development of drugs are automatically too biased to write Drug Therapy articles, particularly if the authors divulge their potential conflicts of interest? Readers can be trusted to decide whether there is bias. Furthermore, eliminating any author who has ties to companies that make drugs does not guarantee the elimination of bias.

Keywords:
*letter to the editor United States conflict-of-interest ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: MEDICAL JOURNAL EDITORSHIP SPONSORSHIP: RESEARCH