Vice-Chairperson] APA Steering Committee on Practice GuidelinesTo many psychiatrists' dismay, unresolved conflicts of interest between parts of our profession and the pharmaceutical industry continue to be a focus of concern. It is not our purpose to examine individual allegations; as in most investigations, some have been verified but others have not. Rather, this editorial addresses the context in which serious conflict of interest occurs. The impact of investigations of conflicts of interest extends beyond their targets and potentially affects the credibility of all psychiatrists. Psychiatry is reexamining its standards and ethical boundaries for interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. Our standards should address not only the conduct of high-profile opinion leaders, but also our responsibility as individual physicians to deliver to our patients the highestquality evidence-based medicine.Conflicts arise when interests that once seemed congruent begin to diverge. For the pioneers of psychopharmacology, the pharmaceutical companies were invaluable allies. Pharmaceutical companies had the latest information on new drugs such as imipramine, chlorpromazine, and diazepam that offered unprecedented therapeutic efficacy for depression, psychosis, and anxiety. Educational programs, advisory boards, and research grants supported a network of opinion leaders who informed clinicians about how to use these revolutionary new treatments. However, as psychopharmacology has matured, education about biological treatment has often narrowed to carefully orchestrated marketing of specific drugs that may have only marginal advantages over other drugs in the same class.
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