Volume 196 - Issue 4
Conflict of interest guidelines for clinical guidelines
Authors: Warwick P Anderson and John McCallum
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (4): 244-245. || doi: 10.5694/mja11.11499
Published online: 5 March 2012
Published online: 5 March 2012
To the Editor: The perspective by Williams and colleagues,1 based on analysis of guidelines hosted on the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) portal (http://www.clinicalguidelines. gov.au), highlights the need for a culture of transparency and disclosure to effectively manage conflicts of interest. With the current health reform agenda being dependent on the availability of clear and unbiased clinical guidance, the NHMRC continues to actively address this persisting challenge.
In July 2011, new standards for guideline developers seeking NHMRC approval were released. The standards make it mandatory for guideline developers to publish all sources of funding for the guideline; to publish a complete list of all the people involved, including professions, organisational affiliation and role in the guideline development process; and to publish how potential competing interests are identified, managed and documented. A competing interest declaration must be completed by each member of the guideline development group.2
The NHMRC is committed to implementing management practices for improving transparency of the development of evidence-based health advice. We recently conducted public consultation on policies for identifying and managing conflicts of interest in relation to NHMRC committees and working groups who are developing guidelines. Submissions to the consultation will be taken into account for the finalised policies, to be released in 2012. The draft policies can be viewed at http://consultations.nhmrc.gov.au/open_public_consultations/conflict-of-interest.
The NHMRC has also established the Australian Guideline Developers Network and holds national workshops to help guideline developers identify and manage issues, including conflict of interest, with the aim of reducing the variability in the quality of guidelines (http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/nhmrc-initiatives-support-high-quality-clinical-practice-guideline-development).
These strategies, combined, will strengthen the role of the NHMRC in supporting the translation of health research into trustworthy clinical guidance, in areas that will most benefit the health of the Australian population.
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
References
- Williams MJ, Kevat DAS, Loff B. Conflict of interest guidelines for clinical guidelines. Med J Aust 2011; 195: 442-445.
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Procedures and requirements for meeting the 2011 NHMRC standard for clinical practice guidelines. Melbourne: NHMRC, 2011. http://www. nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/ attachments/cp133_2011_nhmrc_standard.pdf (accessed Jan 2012).