Who will guard the guards? Medical leadership and conflict of interest in South African healthcare

Abstract

Conflicts of interest (COI) arising from the interaction of the pharmaceutical industry with doctors have been described in an SAMJ editorial. A number of important measures to deal with COI are described in the editorial, including disclosure of COI, creating awareness of the problem, academic discussions and fostering professionalism by practitioners. A further measure that should be included to complement the above is the use of clinical protocols (standardised care guidelines), which reduce conflicts of interest and facilitate the documentation of a body of experience on which to base patient care in the future.