LAUSR

Conflicts of interests are widespread in health care and biomedicine. Competing interests arise where practitioners become involved in arrangements that introduce considerations that may be at odds with the best interests of their patients. Avoidance of situations that give rise to, or appear to give rise to, conflict of interests is advised whenever possible. However, this is not always feasible, for example when conducting research funded by pharmaceutical companies. In addition, professionals may not always be aware of the power of external factors to distort interpretation and reasoning. Removing oneself from participation, recusal, is another strategy. For example, if a medical professional is sitting on a committee or board making recommendations about the distribution of resources and they have financial interests in, or personal ties to, one or more of the parties being considered they should be open about these ties and excuse themselves from decision making where necessary. Being open and disclosing the nature of the association can help maintain trust, which is essential to maintaining both a fiduciary relationship with patients and the wider public’s faith in the medical profession. I use the term fiduciary rather than altruistic because altruism’s notion of self-denying service takes the ordinary virtue of assisting another person professionally to an extreme. What, when, where and how to disclose requires professional judgement.