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Financial support and conflict of interest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. J. D. Macdonald*
Affiliation:
Department of Old Age Psychiatry South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, Ladywell House, 330 Lewisham High Street, London SE13 6JZ, UK. E-mail: alastair.macdonald@iop.kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Type
Columns
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

The Journal apologises, as does Dr Calton (British Journal of Psychiatry, 2005), for giving the impression that the views expressed by authors were influenced by their occasional support from pharmaceutical companies. Your column (Reference TyrerTyrer, 2005) comments that assuming that such support necessarily creates a conflict of interest is ‘sometimes’ unwarranted. I am sure that it would be of great interest to readers to know how you judge when such an assumption is warranted. Does it depend on how often you receive support? Or on the financial value of such support? Or on some multiplication of both? Or on the obviousness of the relationship between the support and the views expressed? We must be told.

Footnotes

Declaration of interest

A.J.D.M. received direct support for attending conferences and meetings until 2001 from Pfizer UK and from other companies. He cannot recall ever attending a major academic meeting that was not heavily sponsored by industry. He works with user and carer charities which also receive such support. He attends lunchtime meetings at which food is never available from any other source, and uses a USB memory stick provided by Eli Lilly UK.

References

British Journal of Psychiatry (2005) Apology. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyrer, P. (2005) From the Editor's Desk. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 394.Google Scholar
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