The Peril of Non-Disclosable Details in COI's
The last part of my discussion in Conflicts of Interest (COI) and balancing transparency versus confidentiality. The conversation started when I had outside work, meaning nothing to do with my university appointment. I was asked to review data for a law firm as a subject matter expert. It was not a trial, but a private mediation between parties. It was agreed that all information, including the players involved, would be kept confidential. I agreed with that. Vague (and approved) verbiage was provided on my website that I was working as an expert for a law firm outside of my job and I was compensated for it. What I didn't realize at the time was how this kind of non-disclosable COI is perceived. To most of us that have such arrangements with companies that fund a trial, share a collaboration, and wish their association to remain confidential, it poses a tremendously dangerous place for loss of public trust. What can he possibly be hiding? Again, this never cro