Unlike disclosure requirements of some healthcare associations and specialty societies, the Burr Ridge, Ill.-based NASS announced its policy is not merely a voluntary guideline, but a binding covenant.
“Failure to abide by the disclosure policy is considered to be in violation of the Code of Ethics … a sanctionable offense,” the policy states, and may be adjudicated by a new formed Conflict of Interest Review Board that can issue sanctions.
Those penalties range from suspensions of membership and exclusions to public letters of censure and barring members from presenting at future meetings.
The 5,000-member NASS expanded its ethics policy several times in the past decade and this most recent version was approved by its board in Oct. 2008. NASS said it believes in the need for full disclosure and airing any potential conflicts of interest and encourages other medical societies to do the same.
Current NASS Ethics Committee Chair Marjorie Eskay-Auerbach, MD, said the NASS goal is to “raise the bar for ethics and professionalism, not only within the NASS, but in the entire field of spine care…and create an environment of scientific validity in which learners can trust the information they receive is objective and unbiased, and to be sure that our members are current and forthright in their dealings with one another and with their colleagues and patients,” according to a news release from NASS.
Spinal surgeons have come under fire in recent years from congressional officials like Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for potential conflicts of interest evolving from undisclosed relationships with medical device makers. Some device makers and their trade association have recently strengthened codes of ethics.
Read the news release about the new North American Spine Society disclosure policy.
View the new NASS policy.
