Institutional Conflict of Interest Policies at U.S. Academic Research Institutions

Abstract

Purpose Institutional conflicts of interest (ICOIs) occur when the institution or leaders with authority to act on behalf of the institution have conflicts of interest (COIs) that may threaten the objectivity, integrity, or trustworthiness of research because they could impact institutional decision making. The purpose of this study was to gather and analyze information about the ICOI policies of the top 100 U.S. academic research institutions, ranked according to total research funding. Method From May–June 2014, the authors attempted to obtain ICOI policy information for the top 100 U.S. academic research institutions from publicly available Web sites or via e-mail inquiry. If an ICOI policy was not found, the institutions' online COI policies were examined. Data on each institution's total research funding, national funding rank, public versus private status, and involvement in clinical research were collected. The authors developed a coding system for categorizing the ICOI policies and used it to code the policies for nine items. Interrater agreement and P values were assessed. Results Only 28/100 (28.0%) institutions had an ICOI policy. ICOI policies varied among the 28 institutions. Having an ICOI policy was positively associated with total research funding and national funding ranking but not with public versus private status or involvement in clinical research. Conclusions Although most U.S. medical schools have policies that address ICOIs, most of the top academic research institutions do not. Federal regulation and guidance may be necessary to encourage institutions to adopt ICOI policies and establish a standard form of ICOI review.

Individual and Institutional Corruption in European and US Healthcare: Overview and Link of Various Corruption Typologies

“…The development of guidelines to identify potential COI and the recommendation of remedies are therefore of utmost importance. A review of 100 US academic research institutions, however, revealed that only 28% had a policy dealing with institutional COI in contrast to most US medical schools that had relevant policies [77]. …”

Institutional Conflicts of Interest in Academic Research

“…Indeed, a recent study by the author and colleagues (Resnik et al 2015) found that only 28 % of 100 of the top U.S. academic research institutions, ranked by total research funding, had an institutional COI policy. The study also found that having an institutional COI policy was positively associated with total research funding and that there was considerable variation in the content of the policies with regard to committee structure and reporting.…”

“…The trustee committee could receive reports of institutional COIs and decide whether they should be disclosed to appropriate parties (such as funding agencies, journals, or research subjects), prohibited, or managed through additional oversight (Institute of Medicine 2009). The trustee committee could also receive reports from different parts of the institution that may have information about COIs (Resnik et al 2015). For example, most universities have formed committees to review faculty COI disclosures (Institute of Medicine 2009).…”

“…Some universities use the committee that oversees faculty COIs to deal with institutional COIs (Resnik et al 2015; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2009). Others appoint a special institutional COI committee (Resnik et al 2015; Washington University 2009).…”

“…Others appoint a special institutional COI committee (Resnik et al 2015; Washington University 2009). While these COI committees may have the expertise to deal with institutional COIs, they may not have sufficient independence or authority to affect decisions made by the academic institution.…”