January 31, 2008

Financial conflicts of interest in spine study

The New York Times reports on the testing and approval of an artificial spinal disc - the Prodisc. The Times says the case "provides a stark example of conflicts of interest among clinical researchers — conflicts that are seldom evident to doctors and patients trying to weigh the value of a new device or drug. Instead of serving as objective gatekeepers who can screen out potentially harmful or ineffective new devices or drugs, clinical researchers with conflicts may have incentives to overstate the value of a new product for patients."

Posted by schwitz at January 31, 2008 06:51 AM | TrackBack
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