Conflicts of Interest: More Questions than Answers

It was fitting that this year's Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference included a session on physician/industry conflicts of interest (COI). The panel was not only timely, since this has been a hot topic recently for both pharmaceutical and medical device companies, but well-suited for this meeting since TCT is probably the most industry-focused of all the major clinical conferences. This is due largely to the nature of the specialty and to the significant product advances that have occurred in this area.

Interventional cardiologists are among the most eager adopters of new technology, and the specialty relies heavily on evidence-based medicine that often enables a new device to establish a foothold in...