New
England Journal Relaxes Conflict Rules
Washington Post June 12, 2002
The New England Journal of Medicine is relaxing its conflict-of-interest
rules for authors of certain articles because it cannot find enough
experts without financial ties to drug companies.
The change, announced in today's issue, applies to experts who
write either editorials or review articles, which are overviews
of research on a specific drug or treatment, rather than original
studies.
The change brings the journal's policy into line with that of
other medical publications.
Since 1990, the journal's rule was that authors of review articles
or editorials could have no financial interest in a company that
made a product discussed in the article, or in any competitor
of such a product.
Back to top
Order
Book 