Do I have a conflict of interest? Not sure
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EDITORIAL
Do I have a conflict of interest? Not sure Jan Wernerman* © 2018 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature and ESICM
As an author of scientific publications, as a speaker in meetings, as a reviewer, as an opinion leader, you are expected to be as objective as you can when interpreting your own data and other people’s data. To make a declaration of your conflicts of interest does not free you from the responsibility to be as objective as you can. It just gives the reader or listener some information of obvious and possible conflicts. There are very detailed forms to fill in when publishing in some journals. Most emphasis is given to possible financial interests such as employment or ownership in commercial companies with connection to the topic at stake; similarly if you are involved with patents related to the topic. Sometimes you may be remunerated to write a summary or review, which also makes you a financial beneficiary. There are also multiple financial relations between commercial companies and experts in terms of advisory boards, invited lectures etc., where the effort is remunerated and compensation for the time spent for preparation as well as the time spent to travel somewhere to present. Most speakers at meetings today show a second slide after the title displaying disclosures of this type. Still, the most important issue is whether you are as objective as you can be. In addition, there are academic conflicts of interest, which are easily defined but not so easy to evaluate. Not for the reader or listener, but also not so easy for yourself to be sincere on this point. You act as an expert, and that is why you are invited. You hold an opinion which may be controversial, from which you evaluate your own results as well as the results of others. When filling in forms you are sometimes asked for possible academic conflicts of *Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, CLINTEC, Karolinska Intitutet, Stockholm, Sweden For contrasting viewpoints, please go to https://doi.org/10.1007/s0013 4-018-5285-7 and https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-018-5299-1.
interest, but it is rare to encounter somebody who discloses such an academic conflict of interest. My position of uncertainty regarding my conflicts of interest relates to two different situations: (1) do I fulfill the demand to be as objective as I can when I am invited as a remunerated expert lecturer by a commercial company, and (2) what about being as objective as I can on issues where I have an expertise when other people disagree?
Being involved with commercial companies To be invited as an expert is flattering and strengthens your self-image. To be asked for advice is also a way to impact future products, which may be for the good of your patients. Many commercial companies organize educational seminars that are beneficial for the professional community, although a specific company will always profile the educational activity according to their marketing purposes. Economic co
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