ABSTRACT
Professional medical associations (PMAs) play an essential role in defining and advancing health care standards. Their conferences, continuing medical education courses, practice guidelines, definitions of ethical norms, and public advocacy positions carry great weight with physicians and the public. Because many PMAs receive extensive funding from pharmaceutical and device companies, it is crucial that their guidelines manage both real and perceived conflict of interests. Any threat to the integrity of PMAs must be thoroughly and effectively resolved. Current PMA policies, however, are not uniform and often lack stringency. To address this situation, the authors first identified and analyzed conflicts of interest that may affect the activities, leadership, and members of PMAs. The authors then went on to formulate guidelines, both short-term and long-term, to prevent the appearance or reality of undue industry influence. The recommendations are rigorous and would require many PMAs to transform their mode of operation and perhaps, to forgo valuable activities. To maintain integrity, sacrifice may be required. Nevertheless, these changes are in the best interest of the PMAs, the profession, their members, and the larger society.
Subject(s)
Conflict of Interest , Ethics, Institutional , Financial Support/ethics , Industry , Organizational Policy , Organizations/standards , Societies, Medical/standards , Conflict of Interest/economics , Congresses as Topic/economics , Disclosure/ethics , Disclosure/standards , Education, Medical, Continuing/economics , Education, Medical, Continuing/ethics , Education, Medical, Continuing/standards , Gift Giving/ethics , Guidelines as Topic , Industry/economics , Interdisciplinary Communication , Leadership , Marketing , Organizational Affiliation , Organizations/economics , Organizations/ethics , Publishing/economics , Publishing/ethics , Publishing/standards , Research/economics , Societies, Medical/economics , Societies, Medical/ethicsSubject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , Public Policy , AIDS Serodiagnosis , Counseling , Epidemiology , HIV Seropositivity , Health Education , Humans , International Cooperation , Internationality , Mass Screening , Public Health , Sexuality , Substance-Related Disorders , United States , Voluntary ProgramsSubject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , Disease Outbreaks , HIV Seropositivity , Public Policy , AIDS Serodiagnosis , Contact Tracing , Delivery of Health Care , Economics , Health Care Rationing , Humans , International Cooperation , Internationality , Mass Screening , Preventive Medicine , Resource Allocation , United StatesABSTRACT
World AIDS Day Meeting. Pan American Health Organization; 1 Dec. 1989
