Guideline Executive Committee Policy for Managing Potential Conflicts of Interest and Relationships with Industry

The Guideline Executive Committee (GEC) for the CVD Panels and Working Groups (P/WG) has established the following approach to manage relationships with industry (RWI) and other potential conflicts of interest (COI). The GEC comprises a GEC chair and the chairs and co-chairs of the 6 P/WGs.

Voting: A P/WG Co-chair without RWI/COI associated with the matter being decided shall oversee the voting on evidence statements and recommendations, including their grading. P/WG members with RWI/COI may participate in discussions after orally identifying their RWI/COI, but shall recuse themselves from voting on guideline evidence statements or recommendations. Recusals will be documented.

Reporting of RWI and COI: Each P/WG member shall orally disclose relevant RWI/COI at meetings/teleconferences of each P/WG of which she/he is a member. All relationships with industry and other entities starting from the time of the first P/WG meeting in September 2008 shall be disclosed.

Members of P/WG should avoid adding RWI/COI. If relevant relationships are added, P/WG members shall disclose them orally to the P/WG at the next meeting/teleconference. Although the names of those who vote for or against an evidence statement or recommendation will not be recorded, the names of those who recuse themselves on each vote will be recorded and will be published with the panel's final published document.

All P/WG members shall list their RWI/COI when reports from the P/WG are presented, released or published. Journal guidance for reporting RWI/COI shall be followed for journal publications.

Types of RWI/COI:

1. Consultant. Includes honoraria for consulting, serving on advisory boards, speaking at non-ACCME approved meetings or other such meetings supported by industry. Donation of such honoraria to charity or nonprofit 502 C3 organizations is still counted as a RWI/COI.
2. Speakers Bureau. Compensation for speaking or being listed as member of an industry sponsored speakers bureau.
3. Equity Ownership. Ownership or option to acquire ownership or other equity position, stock, stock options industry. Members of the P/WG should not hold a financial interest in companies that are affected by the guidelines created by the P/WG.
4. Personal Research. Investigator, co-investigator, or steering committee member in industry supported research or institutional direct decision-making responsibility for such funds (e.g research or other grants that provide support for fellowship, faculty or other clinical personnel).
5. Expert Witness. Court cases or other legal activity where service was rendered as an expert witness of industry.