Conflicts of Interest

Abstract

The recognition and importance tied to conflicts of interest has grown dramatically in the past few decades. And with the increasing weight being placed on these, a variety of policies have been created at most institutions to formalize the reporting of conflicts and a legal or policy structure for identifying them. In this chapter, I will try to provide an overview as to what constitutes a conflict of interest, which types of conflicts are absolute no-no’s, those that are softer conflicts, and the various reporting one needs to do to ensure that these are being handled correctly. Since many of these are university or medical school specific, I cannot possibly hope to provide an accurate assessment of all conflicts across the United States or the world and how they would be handled. I also hope not to just recite a litany of legal rules, but rather to explain my views on some of the larger-picture issues concerning conflicts of interest.