Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has revamped its Web site’s profile pages for about 2,000 full- and part-time faculty members to include details about their financial ties to industry and professional groups, officials announced on Tuesday.
The online profiles were fleshed out in response to national concerns about financial conflicts of interest by physicians and scientific researchers.
They are intended to disclose whether individual researchers serve on company boards of directors, are paid consultants, or have received investment interest or royalty payments. They also list scientific advisory boards, hospitals, government agencies, and professional societies that have paid faculty members for their work. Seventy-three percent of the profiles list no disclosures, while some have dozens.
The medical school developed the enhanced disclosures with its primary teaching hospital and physician practice group.
The university’s medical-school dean, J. Larry Jameson, said that while such external relationships enhanced the school’s educational and research objectives, “we also recognize the importance of avoiding potential conflicts of interest, and we are committed to the transparency of these relationships.”
Ann C. Bonham, chief scientific officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, said in an e-mail message that Feinberg “joins a small but rapidly growing number of medical schools that offer or are planning to offer public Web sites that include faculty external professional activities. Though the development of these sites involves a significant investment of resources, they are an important part of the public-disclosure process and serve to enhance public understanding of the variety of industry relationships that exist.”
