TITLE:
A Review of Canadian Medical School Conflict of Interest Policies
AUTHORS:
Michael G. R. Beyaert, Jatinder Takhar, David Dixon, Margaret Steele, Leanna Isserlin, Carla Garcia, Ian J. Pereira, Jason Eadie
KEYWORDS:
Conflict of Interest; Policy Evaluation; Continuing Medical Education; Continuing Professional Development; Quality Control
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.4 No.3,
March
25,
2013
ABSTRACT: Background:Growing evidence of behavioral bias has
caused a surge of interest in the area of Conflict of Interest (COI) within the
medical community. The present study sought to evaluate the landscape of
Faculty of Medicine COI policies among Canadian medical schools using an
evaluation system adapted from the AMSA PharmFree Scorecard.Methods:The authors contacted leaders
at the CPD/CME offices of all 17 Canadian medical schools in 2011 to determine
how many had formal policies guiding interaction with the pharmaceutical
industry. Existing policies were evaluated based on 16 criteria developed by a
steering committee. A Policy Score was calculated and a letter grade assigned
for each of the existing policies.Results:At the time of review, roughly 35% of the Canadian medical schools had
faculty-wide COI policy/guidelines, half of which hadbeen implemented. Other policies are currently in
development. Policy Scores ranged from 25.00% to 70.83% with a Mean Policy Score
of 52.08%. Policies that were implemented all scored higher than those that
were not implemented. Additionally, several strengths and weaknesses among
policies were identified.Conclusions:Canadian schools have recognized that COI and bias have becomea serious issue and are taking stepstoward
its management. The authors propose that the CMFS employ a system similar to
the AMSA Scorecard to evaluate progress in a longitudinal study.