9. A residency program requires attendance by its residents at presentations by drug company representatives, who provide lunch.
#	Response Date	Comment
1.	Wed, 3/14/07 12:34 AM	If the residents are required to attend and there is no opportunity for rebuttal, there is a COI.
2.	Wed, 3/14/07 1:39 PM	I think the interpretation of your question makes a difference. Will be interesting to see if you get much discrimination with that stem as "A very serious COI" is the obvious answer. But, if it were a content rich presentation that is not done by the drug rep but by an independent presenter, it might be a good way for many community programs to access resources they otherwise might not be able to present to their residents. However, drug companies do what they do because it works so you should probably keep the buggers at bay.
3.	Wed, 3/14/07 1:48 PM	Degree of control company has on content and whether or not company reps interact with attendees.
4.	Wed, 3/14/07 2:04 PM	For me the problem here is that the required presentation is given by the drug reps....if only lunch is provided, participants could choose whether or not to eat that lunch.
5.	Wed, 3/14/07 2:26 PM	It's not clear in my mind. This occurs for our adult cardiogy fellows: one lunch meeting (every Monday) and one dinner meeting (one Thursday/month)
6.	Wed, 3/14/07 3:31 PM	not unless the residency program is gaining something else from the company
7.	Thu, 3/15/07 12:57 AM	Yes, if they then are directed to prescribe medications from those companies.
8.	Mon, 3/19/07 12:03 AM	who controls the curriculum and content of the conference
9.	Mon, 3/19/07 4:32 PM	REQUIRING attendance at pharma-sponsored events is an OBVIOUS COI. Scheduling or sponsoring such events on school facilities is NOT, provided there is no quid pro quo. It is beneficial for academic institutions to maintain constructive interactions with private concerns (and vice versa) to foster drug company sponsorship of symosium, invited talks, internships, as well as things like clinical trials and company-funded reesearch projects. The potential for COIs exists when drug companies and clinicians interact, therefore it is important not to blur the lines by prmitting restrictive pre-publication review, company selection or screening of speakers at symposium, etc.
10.	Mon, 3/19/07 5:23 PM	Residents may buy their lunches.
11.	Mon, 3/26/07 3:06 PM	It is probably at least a small COI since there is some appearance of reciprocity. The problem could be mitigated by limiting the "selling" of a particular product and by faculty involvement.
12.	Mon, 4/23/07 3:41 PM	Some programs use drug company presentations to teach EBM concepts and train residents to practice critical thinking
13.	Tue, 4/24/07 1:27 PM	I don't like that it is required, but again it can be a learning experience if the faculty are there and are able to raise questions and concerns and can critique the techniques used by the drug reps to 'sell' their drugs.
14.	Tue, 4/24/07 1:45 PM	Serious COI. Residents s/n be required to attend. If it is an option, no COI. Residency is a prime time to engage residents on the appropriate interaction with reps. That is, if faculty is present to review the information (and misinfo) after the fact.
15.	Tue, 4/24/07 9:32 PM	yes if the presenter is a drug rep and residents are required. No if the drug company sponsors an expert to give an educational talk about a particular topic and potential conflicts of interests are transparent. As a resident, I never felt influenced by whether or not I enjoyed the menu of the free lunch and I think these concerns are greatly exaggerated.
16.	Wed, 4/25/07 12:01 PM	Only if the presentation is required, not if it is voluntary
17.	Wed, 4/25/07 1:22 PM	A COI exists if the drug company reps are allowed to provide a verbal or media-based pitch for their drug to the captive audience.
18.	Thu, 4/26/07 11:38 AM	Who is requiring the attendence? The drug or university administrators.
19.	Fri, 4/27/07 11:54 AM	If held during work hours and if presentations are arranged with blessing of the program director, who has guaranteed the educational value, it would not be unreasonable to set some sort of expectation concerning attendance.
20.	Tue, 5/15/07 4:28 PM	Does the program give preferential treatment to the company's products because they buy lunch, or are their products being used because they are the best option for certain patients? The COI would arise when there is preferential treatment in return for some financial contribution that would otherwise not be made.