David B Menkes , academic psychiatrist 1 , Barbara Mintzes , professor 2 , Nikki Macdonald , journalist 3 , Joel Lexchin , professor emeritus 4 1Waikato Clinical Campus, University of Auckland, Hamilton, New Zealand 2University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia 3Stuff Media, Wellington, New Zealand 4York University, Toronto, Canada Correspondence to: D B Menkes david.menkes{at}auckland.ac.nzDavid Menkes and colleagues argue that mandatory accessible reporting of drug industry payments to doctors is an important first step to managing harms from conflicts of interestAfter a seven year delay, in 2022drug companies operating in New Zealand made their first disclosures of financial relationships with individual health professionals. The information included payments for speaking engagements, consultancies, advisory board memberships, honorariums, travel costs, attendance at conferences, and other sponsored events.1 This welcome development, sponsored by the industry trade association Medicines New Zealand, was intended to promote “transparency” and “public understanding.”2 However, some members of Medicines New Zealand did not participate in the scheme, and several payment types were omitted from disclosure, notably food and drink provided by companies during sponsored events and sales visits. While health professionals tend to favour transparency in principle, reporting standards for industry payments vary widely across countries. We compare New Zealand’s disclosure policy with that of other countries and consider what is necessary to effectively tackle the potential harms caused by doctors’ financial conflicts of interest.

Source: Stuff February 29, 2024 11:28 UTC