Academic medical centers have a new survey at their disposal to help assess conflict of interest policies, according to Cleveland Clinic.
The organization developed the survey in conjunction with national conflicts of interest policy experts, and it was piloted in three anonymous AMCs. More than 1,500 faculty and staff at the three sites participated in the survey.
Cleveland Clinic researchers found 90 percent of respondents knew COI policies exist at their AMC. However, their awareness of specific policies varied, the organization said. For instance, 77.5 percent of respondents understood policies on acceptance of gifts, food or entertainment, 75.8 percent understood policies on managing conflicts of interest in research and 71.3 percent understood the policies on endorsements/promotional statements.
However, only 22.6 percent understood policies on recruiting patients for clinical research, Cleveland Clinic said.
The organization said researchers also found people with industry ties were significantly more likely than those without ties to believe COI policies "unnecessarily hindered interactions with industry." People with industry ties were also significantly more likely to believe COI policies "were ineffective at reducing harm to patients" and "were ineffective in reducing bias in medical education."
Cleveland Clinic said AMCs nationwide may use the survey to measure perceptions and effectiveness of COI policies at their own institutions. "Additionally, information from the survey could assist institutional COI compliance leaders in effectively designing and implementing policies, as well as to evaluate them for improvement," the organization said.
The survey is free and available to the public here.