Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters Who pays this doctor?

Who pays for this conference? It’s time patients and doctors knew

BMJ 2014; 348 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g3748 (Published 11 June 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g3748
  1. Paolo Vercellini, associate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology1,
  2. Paola Viganò, in vitro fertilisation laboratory director2,
  3. Edgardo Somigliana, director, infertility unit3
  1. 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Università degli Studi and Fondazione Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
  2. 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy
  3. 3Fondazione Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Manfredo Fanti 6, 20122, Milan, Italy
  1. paolo.vercellini{at}unimi.it

McCartney notes that patients do not know whether their doctors are chosen key opinion leaders who are paid by a drug company to increase prescribing of a drug, or whether their doctors’ travel to international conferences was paid for by the drug company that makes the product that is being recommended to them.1

Because of the potential effect on speakers and audience, some information disseminated in scientific meetings might be biased, and prescribing practices might be influenced.2 3 4 5 Patients should know not only who pays their doctors1 but also who pays for medical conferences.

Health authorities should set up a public central registry of competing interests for scientific societies or individual organisers where declarations regarding medical conferences and invited speakers can be listed. Conflicts of interest should be published in the online and printed programmes for each conference.

Through these simple measures, lay people and attendees would be aware of several points:

  • Conflicts of interest of the scientific societies5 or individuals who arrange the meeting, including the president of the congress and members of committees

  • Industry support of the conference obtained through “unrestricted” funds in favour of scientific societies or individual organisers

  • Industry payments to purchase booths in exhibit halls and programme slots for sponsored symposiums, breakfast and luncheon lectures, and satellite meetings

  • The number of registrations bought by companies

  • The society, organisation, or people responsible for meeting the financial balance—that is, those who will gain or lose money according to the degree of success of the conference

  • Conflicts of interest of invited speakers and the amount of money they receive for delivering lectures in that particular meeting.

In addition, conference organisers should declare in the programme that the final financial statement will be published online, including the publication date and web page.

Notes

Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g3748

Footnotes

References

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