A prominent cardiologist accused leading heart organizations of being too cozy with industry and allowing those ties to influence its policies and education programs for doctors.
Cleveland Clinic cardiology chief Dr. Steven Nissen criticized the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology in a speech at the college's annual scientific conference on Tuesday.
Industry influence has been a growing concern, especially its funding of education programs for doctors. Some high-profile scandals have drawn attention to a problem that some doctors believe has been exaggerated to demonize companies that take big financial risks to develop drugs...Outed or not, it remains best for you to get or remain fit and avoid all the improprieties or appearances thereof.
Nissen's criticism of the other group, the cardiology college, scored a hit, however. While noting the group is the gold standard for avoiding industry conflicts, he said it granted continuing medical education credits for a seminar sponsored by Merck in which an experimental Merck drug was touted. All four faculty members for the session consult for Merck.
"That is wrong. It shouldn't happen," admitted the college's chief executive officer, Dr. Jack Lewin. "We can do better than that."
The flap caused a stir at the conference and riled doctors and industry members alike. Dr. Robert Harrington, head of heart research at Duke University, who also spoke at the session, said scientists and professional societies need to do more to have "firewalls" to protect their work from corporate influence. However, most research in the United States is paid for by industry, and fair and ethical partnerships are needed to develop treatments, he said.
"While it's easy to say all of this should be funded by the NIH, that's not the reality," Harrington said.
Either can kill you.
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