NASS Announces More Stringent Disclosure Policy
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, JANUARY 26, 2009
The North American Spine Society (NASS) adopted a new transparency policy requiring surgeons presenting at conferences to disclose both industry relationships and the dollar amount of any payments. Failure to disclose information could result in sanctions including suspension or expulsion from NASS or public letters of censure, though it wouldn't affect a surgeon's ability to practice.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the new policy comes in response to mounting pressure from legislators, prosecutors and patients filing lawsuits, quoting JAMA editor-in-chief Catherine D. DeAngelis as saying,"I'm sure this is because of Sen. Grassley . . . I'm sure they're saying we'd better police this ourselves or the feds will." As of May 2008, NASS also established a Conflict of Interest Review Committee to oversee surgeon conflict reporting.
DeAngelis added she didn't know of another organization adopting as stringent a policy as the one introduced by NASS.
Since signing Deferred Prosecution Agreements (and a Non-prosecution Agreement, in Stryker's case), the big five orthopedic companies are no strangers to having surgeon payments made public, and it now appears that the public and private companies that comprise the rest of the ortho space should anticipate a similar airing of their consulting agreements. Sen. Grassley's Physician Payment Sunshine Act is thought to be all but guaranteed to pass, and while NASS appears to be the only physician group with such rigorous disclosure standards, their policy presages a climate where complete disclosure is the norm, not an exception.
