Dean’s response

It is admirable that Wiens and Cota posit an opinion advocating for a strong system of instituting, monitoring, and enforcing disclosure policies that are “in line with the standards of continuing medical education and journal submission.” In responding to the authors’ stance it is important to highlight existing mechanisms dealing with disclosure under which faculty members affiliated with UBC’s Faculty of Medicine operate.

First, the faculty is governed by the UBC Board of Governors, enacted by its comprehensive policies including Policy 97 (revised in 2005), which mandates a wide range of prescriptive behavior with regard to conflict of interest and conflict of commitment, as well as citing procedures to be followed by all faculty members engaged in research. Compliance to procedures began online in 2006, and I am pleased to report that the majority of our faculty have filed as required. Compliance is monitored by the Faculty of Medicine monthly, reported at least annually to faculty executive, and more frequently to department heads, with further action being taken if required. People have become more aware of the benefits of transparency and disclosing relevant potential conflict while giving lectures to medical students and trainees, as implicit in the policy. This awareness-building requires an ongoing educational process of our large distributed faculty.

Second, I point to the existence of the faculty’s Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Professional Development Guidelines, which provide an expectation that conflicts of interest will be declared in these situations.

Third and finally, I note that both the American Association of Medical Colleges and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada are also wrestling with conflict of interest policies related to the influence of industry on medical education, and we will continue to monitor those organizations’ outcomes.

Consequently, we are involved in a process to review existing policies (our own and others) to determine if additional measures may be required in declaring the conflict of interest as it applies more specifically to educating students to meet accreditation standards.

—Gavin Stuart, MD,
Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine