October 5, 2009 – 1:53 pm
As regular readers may have guessed, Croakey takes a keen interest in conflict of interest issues, as indicated by the Crikey Register of Influence and our regular coverage of related stories.
Of course, it’s not only Croakey who follows such matters – conflict of interest has been one of the big and important ongoing stories of [...]
Health reform efforts in the US are not only attempting to improve access, efficiency and quality of care. They are also seeking to inject greater transparency into the relationships between industry and health care providers, reports Dr Lesley Russell from Washington. It seems that sunshine may be the best disinfectant, she says. She writes:
The 1000 [...]
Professor Garry Jennings, Director of the Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, has responded to recent Croakey posts raising concerns about his organisation’s close ties with industry. It seems there will be no more Baker staff appearing in pharmaceutical advertorials. He writes:
“The Croakey posting on Conflict of Interest points to both the diversity of views [...]
Following the recent post about the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute’s latest foray into pharmaceutical marketing, Croakey asked both the Baker and the NHMRC for comment.
No word yet from the Baker, but Professor Warwick Anderson, ceo of the NHMRC, sent this comment:
“The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (issued jointly by NHMRC, [...]
Conflicts of interest are not only a hot issue for health professionals, researchers and their organisations. Health and medical writers and publishers are also often entangled with industry (and I’d be the first to acknowledge that conflicts are a particularly fraught issue for freelancers like myself who receive commissions from a variety of sources).
On the [...]
The Crikey Register of Influence – which details links between opinion leaders, organisations and industry marketing campaigns – has been updated.
The new entries are Professor Simon Stewart, Head, Preventive Cardiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, and his colleague, Dr Melinda Carrington, General Manager of the Baker’s Disease Management and Preventative Programs.
They appeared [...]
Members of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors are meeting in London this month.
High on the agenda will be efforts to improve the management of conflicts of interest, according to the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia, Dr Martin Van Der Weyden. He told a workshop on such issues, convened in Canberra yesterday [...]
A Sydney doctor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has sent in the following piece examining the complexities of conflict of interest issues. It’s timely in view of the approaching NHMRC workshop on this issue, and recent debate surrounding Vioxx promotions, industry sponsored guidelines for DVT prevention, and the Baker/Sanofi deal, amongst other things.
The doctor writes:
It’s [...]
A pharmacy researcher who wishes to remain anonymous has sent in this comment regarding the funding deal between the Baker and Sanofi Aventis (for more background info, see here, and here and here):
“Agreements between not for profit research institutes and the pharmaceutical industry can be fraught with conflict, even if an iron clad contract is [...]
Professor Warwick Anderson, ceo of the NHMRC, has sent in the following comment re the guidelines controversy. (Readers with an interest in these issues may want to check out the details of a workshop being held by the NHMRC in Canberra on June 2):
“Last week, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released for [...]
