Essays on Conflicts of Interest in Medicine

Abstract

The dissertation abstract and reflection commentary present the work of Dr. Sunita Sah. The abstract provides an overview of three main research questions that address conflicts of interest in medicine. Sah first explores why physicians accept gifts from pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers that appear, to many critics, to be unethical. Second, she investigates situations that may increase or decrease bias in advice. Finally, Sah examines the impact of conflicted advice on advisees, particularly when they are aware of the conflict. Disclosure (informing advisees about the conflict of interest) is one of the most commonly proposed and implemented solutions to address conflicts of interest but can have surprising and unintended effects on both advisors and advisees. The reflection commentary discusses the author’s views of the research process as a junior scholar.