profession
CDC lax in policing advisers' conflicts, says inspector general report
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 4, 2010
Nearly two-thirds of physicians and other experts serving as advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had conflicts of interest that the agency failed to identify or resolve, according to a December 2009 report from the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General (link).
The review of ethics and conflict-of-interest rules compliance in 2007 found that four in 10 CDC advisers did not take required ethics training, or if they did it was not documented.
Three percent of advisers to the CDC voted on matters that they were barred from voting on due to conflicts of interest, the inspector general's report said. The CDC said it has vastly improved its compliance since 2007.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/01/04/prbf0104.htm.
