title: Are Financial Conflicts of Interest for the Surgeon A Source of Concern for the Patient?
abstract: We surveyed 269 consecutive patients (81% response rate) with an anonymous questionnaire to assess their attitudes toward conflicts-of-interest (COIs) resulting from three financial relationships between orthopedic surgeons and orthopedic industry: (1) being paid as a consultant; (2) receiving research funding; (3) receiving product design royalties. The majority perceived these relationships favorably, with 75% agreeing that surgeons in such relationships are top experts in the field and two-thirds agreeing that surgeons engage in such relationships to serve patients better. Patients viewed surgeons who designed products more favorably than those who are consultants (P=0.03). The majority (74%) agreed that these COIs should be disclosed to patients. Given patients' desires for disclosure and their favorable perceptions of these relationships, open discussions about financial COIs is appropriate.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Paul H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Hospital For Special Surgery, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.affiliation: Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Staci R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine Section of General Internal Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rasinski
authors.affiliation: Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nunley
authors.affiliation: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Craig J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Della Valle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001178:Arthroplasty / Q000191:economics; D016265:Conflict of Interest / Q000191:economics*; D030881:Disclosure; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D066231:Surgeons / Q000941:ethics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: arthroplasty; conflict-of-interest; disclosure; industry; orthopedic; patient attitudes