Approximately 30 percent of presenters, committee members, and board members attending a 2008 medical association meeting did not disclose payments received from device manufacturers as required by the association according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The research team, led by Mininder Kocher, MD, associate professor, orthopedic surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, conducted its study on the 2008 annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Francisco. They looked at payments made by five leading manufacturers of hip and knee replacement equipment to physicians for a variety of reasons—consulting, honoraria, and research, among others. Then they checked to see if those required to disclose payments received to speak or participate in the AAOS annual meeting—presenters, board members, and committee members—received any payments from the manufacturers.

Of the 344 payments received by presenters, board members, and committee members, 245 were disclosed—or 71 percent. For payments directly related to the topic of the presentation, 79 percent (165 of 208) were disclosed. For payments that were indirectly related, 50 percent (16 of 32) were disclosed, and for payments that were unrelated to the presentation, 49 percent (29 of 59) were disclosed.

When asked why they hadn’t disclosed payments, physicians surveyed gave a variety of reasons. About 40 percent said they didn’t disclose because it was not related to the topic of the presentation. Another 14 percent said they misunderstood the disclosure requirement. About 11 percent said they did disclose the payment, but the statement was mistakenly omitted from the program.

Presenters at medical meetings are required to self-report any potential conflicts of interest, including all relevant financial relationships with commercial interests, according to Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education standards. However, conflict of interest in CME has been a hot topic in recent months. The Institute of Medicine recently came out with a study recommending ways to better manage COI. Further, legislation is pending in Congress that would require pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to disclose all payments to doctors.