Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research

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ONLINEACPECMECNECommunicationEthics/ProfessionalismCollaborative and Team-Based CME/CE

Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 12:00 AM - Saturday, March 4, 2023, 11:59 PM

This course provides an overview of ethical concerns regarding conflicts of interest in biomedical research. It also offers several approaches to safeguarding against conflicts of interest and describes related federal policies. Intended primarily for researchers, the course: 

• Explains what a conflict of interest is and why conflicts are problematic. 
  
• Provides data and analysis regarding the extent of conflicts of interest in research. 
• Assesses strategies for avoiding and remediating conflicts of interest. 
• Describes NIH and FDA policies related to conflicts of interest in research, as well as institutions’ role in managing researcher conflicts. 
• The course offers several brief case studies intended to help learners apply key principles to their own work. 

The course offers several brief case studies intended to help learners apply key principles to their own work.

There was no commercial support used in the development of this educational activity.

Content last reviewed: March 4, 2020

1. Define a conflict of interest in the context of biomedical research.
2. Explain how conflicts of interest lead to harms.
3. Summarize the impact of conflicts of interest on research.
4. Summarize strategies for safeguarding against conflicts of interest.
5. Describe key features of NIH and FDA policies related to conflicts of interest.

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (1.25 hours), Non-Physician Attendance / Participation (1.25 hours), NCPD Hours (ANCC) (1.25 hours), ACPE (1.25 hours)

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and co-director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the special advisory to the director-general of the World Health Organization.

From January 2009 to January 2011, Dr. Emanuel served as a special advisor on health policy to the director of the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. Prior to that he was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health from 1997 to August of 2011.

Dr. Emanuel received his MD from Harvard Medical School and his PhD in political philosophy from Harvard University. He has published over 300 articles mainly on health care reform, research ethics, and end-of-life care. He has also authored or edited 13 books, including Reinventing American Health Care (2014), Prescription for the Future (2018), and Which Country Has the World’s Best Health Care? (2020). Dr. Emanuel is the most widely cited bioethicist in history.

Dr. Emanuel also serves as a venture partner at Oak HC/FT in addition to serving as a contributor for the New York Times and CNN. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal College of Medicine. He recently served on the Biden administration transition team’s COVID-19 task force. Dr. Emanuel is a 2018 recipient of the Dan David Prize in the category of Bioethics, an honor recognizing innovative and interdisciplinary research that cuts across traditional boundaries and paradigms.