BIOETHICS FOR CLINICIAN - 17 - CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST IN RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND PATIENT-CARE

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST OCCURS IN A SITUATION in which professional jud gement regarding a primary interest, such as research, education or pa tient care, may be unduly influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain or personal prestige. Conflicts of interest exist in ev ery walk of life, including medicine and science. There is nothing inh erently unethical in finding oneself in a conflict of interest. Rather , the key questions are whether one recognizes the conflict and how on e deals with it. Strategies include disclosing the conflict, establish ing a system of review and authorization, and prohibiting the activiti es that lead to the conflict.