On December 8, 2018, ProPublica and The New York Times published an article describing failures by several prominent physicians to disclose their financial relationships with drug companies in studies they published in medical journals.  This development is the latest high-profile example of the increasing scrutiny on the lack of transparency into potential conflicts of interest related to medical research and publications.

The December article follows another article published by ProPublica and The New York Times in September 2018.  That article highlighted the failure of a leading cancer researcher, Dr. José Baselga, to disclose significant ties to drug companies with interests in the subject of his medical research in studies he published in medical journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Baselga ultimately stepped down from his position as Chief Medical Officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center because of the article.

Physicians are not the only target of this increased scrutiny.  ProPublica and The New York Times also emphasize deficiencies in the practices of medical journals, noting that medical journals have given confusing advice to physicians and do not routinely vet disclosures by researchers even though many relationships can be easily detected on CMS’s Open Payments database.  Further, ProPublica and The New York Times note that, historically, medical journals have done little to reprimand physicians who fail to disclose relevant industry ties.