A rigorous process for the disclosure of interests (DOI) and management of conflicts of interest (COI) is essential for developing high-quality clinical guidelines and guidance statements, says the American College of Physicians (ACP) in a new paper published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Any individual involved in the development of ACP’s clinical guidelines and guidance statements must disclose all financial and intellectual interests related to healthcare from the last three years. Individuals submit disclosures at the start of participation and are required to update their disclosures over the course of their involvement with the Clinical Guidelines Committee, which develops ACP’s clinical policy papers.
A DOI-COI Review and Management Panel reviews the disclosures, flags potential sources of COI, grades the COI as ‘low,’ ‘moderate,’ or ‘high,’ and manages the individual’s participation accordingly. High-level COI results in recusal from authorship, voting, and all committee discussions. Moderate-level COI results in a recusal from authorship and voting for clinically relevant topics, but permission to participate in all discussions. Low-level COI results in no role restrictions. All disclosures and COI management decisions are available publicly.
ACP recently published ‘The Development of Clinical Guidelines and Guidance Statements by the Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians’ that presents ACP’s methods for developing clinical guidelines and guidance statements.
ACP is a well-recognised name in evidence-based medicine. ACP is member of the Guidelines International Network, whose mission is to lead, strengthen, and support collaboration in guideline development, Cochrane, a global leader and resource in evidence-informed health decision-making, has officially recognised ACP as a Cochrane US Network Affiliate. To receive such a designation, Affiliates must show a proven record of supporting evidence-based practice and expertise and competencies in systematic reviewing and evidenced-informed health practice and policy.
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