TY  - JOUR
T1  - Full Disclosure Is Only the First Step in Managing Potential Conflicts of InterestCommentary on an article by Young-Kyun Lee, MD, et al.: “Conflict of Interest in the Assessment of Thromboprophylaxis After Total Joint Arthroplasty. A Systematic Review”
AU  - Clarke, Henry D.
Y1  - 2012/01/04
N1  - 10.2106/JBJS.K.01399
JO  - The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery
SP  - e4 1
EP  - 2
VL  - 94
IS  - 1
N2  - 
Conflicts of interest may result from a large number of both financial and non-financial relationships in our private and professional lives1,2,3. Recognizing that it is unrealistic to eliminate all potential conflicts, medicine as a profession has attempted to develop mechanisms to manage these sources of bias2. Over the past decade, the concepts of transparency and full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest have rightfully become accepted in all areas of medicine, including research, education, and patient care. Indeed, measures such as the standardized format, developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, for the self reporting of potential conflicts of interest (adopted by JBJS for all manuscripts submitted after January 1, 2011) are an important first step in securing our professional credibility3. However, such efforts perhaps only alert the reader to the most overt potential sources of bias. Unfortunately, other important forms of bias may be pervasive but go unrecognized. One of these trends is the systematic bias of published reports favoring products produced by companies funding the research1,4. This type of bias may only be revealed through systematic reviews and meta-analyses of entire fields of research.

SN  - 0021-9355
M3  - doi: 10.2106/JBJS.K.01399
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.K.01399
ER  -