The study compared the conflict-of-interest disclosures of orthopedic surgeons presenting at the 2008 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons to lists of paid consultants available on medical device manufacturers’ Web sites. Surgeons presenting at the AAOS meeting were required to disclose any financial relationships before the conference, and these disclosures appeared in the conference program.
The results found that the overall rate of disclosure was 71.2 percent. However, disclosure was less likely when the financial relationship was indirectly, rather than directly, related to the topic of presentation. According to the study, 79.3 percent of physicians disclosed relationships directly related to their presentation topic, but only 50 percent of physicians disclosed indirect relationships. Physicians who received payments of more than $10,000 were also significantly more likely to report the payment, according to the study.
Proponents of such relationships say that they can advance innovation and improve patient care; however physicians with financial relationships may be biased toward positive results. As a result, some healthcare advocates are pushing for mandatory disclosure of relationships by physicians to journals, professional organizations and patients, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Read the NEJM’s report on orthopedic surgeon disclosures.
Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s report on orthopedic surgeon disclosures.
