The Associated Press is reporting that leading medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, and the Lancet, plan to implement tougher guidelines for publication of industry-supported research on new drug therapies.

What are the possible outcomes for medical conference organizers? One possible result: Researchers may be under greater pressure to make live presentations that support conclusions desired by the research underwriters, especially if live presentations are perceived as giving researchers greater latitude than published ones. Conference organizers may need to demonstrate extra vigilance in assuring that presenters are free of bias.

Another possible outcome: If medical journals require researchers to make fuller disclosure of possible conflicts of interest before publishing findings, conference organizers may find it easier to get disclosure statements from presenters. Click here to see the AP story.