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. 2014 Feb 17;31(1):Doc10.
doi: 10.3205/zma000902. eCollection 2014.

Conflicts of interest in medical school: missing policies and high need for student information at most German universities

Klaus Lieb  1 , Cora Koch  2
Affiliations

Conflicts of interest in medical school: missing policies and high need for student information at most German universities

Klaus Lieb et al. GMS Z Med Ausbild. .

Abstract
in English, German

Objectives: Medical students interact with pharmaceutical representatives already during medical school. The goal of this study was to find out: Do policies exist at German medical faculties that govern the interactions between medical students and pharmaceutical representatives, do schools offer courses on the subject and do students attend these courses? And What are the attitudes of medical students concerning the role of pharmaceutical companies in medical teaching?

Methods: All 36 German medical faculty deans and 1151 medical students at eight German universities were asked to complete a questionnaire of 4 and 7 questions, respectively, regarding the above mentioned topics.

Results: 30 (83.3%) deans and 1038 (90.3%) medical students filled in the questionnaire, respectively. According to the deans' answers, only one school had a policy concerning conflicts of interest and one had a policy governing the interactions between medical students and industry. 8 (26.7%) deans showed an interest in constructing a policy or educational an activity on this subject. 149 (14.4%) students had participated in an activity that focussed the subject of conflicts of interest and 779 (77.8%) wanted more education on the subject. 701 (73.4%) were opposed to an improvement of medical studies through financial support by pharmaceutical companies, whereas 216 (21.9%) were of the opinion that students should not meet with pharmaceutical representatives.

Conclusions: Unlike in other countries, like the US, most German medical faculties do not have policies that govern the interactions between medical students and pharmaceutical companies. Since most students want to be taught more about these interactions, the implementation of respective policies and lectures would be desirable.

Zielsetzung: Studierende der Medizin stehen mit Vertretern pharmazeutischer Unternehmen (PU) schon während des Studiums in Kontakt. Ziel dieser Untersuchung war herauszufinden: Existieren an medizinischen Fakultäten Regelungen zum Umgang von Medizinstudierenden mit Vertretern von PU und werden entsprechende Lehrveranstaltungen angeboten und besucht? und Wie denken Medizinstudierende über die Rolle von PU in der medizinischen Lehre? Methodik: Alle 36 deutschen Studiendekanate und 1.151 Medizinstudierende an acht deutschen Universitäten wurden um die Beantwortung eines Fragebogens mit 4 bzw. 7 Fragen zur oben genannten Thematik gebeten. Ergebnisse: 30 (83,3%) Studiendekane bzw. 1.038 (90,3%) Medizinstudierende füllten den Fragebogen aus. Nach Angaben der Studiendekanate existieren an jeweils nur einer (3,3%) medizinischen Fakultät eine Richtlinie zum Thema Interessenkonflikte bzw. eine Richtlinie, die den Umgang zwischen Medizinstudierenden und der Industrie reguliert. 8 (26,7%) der Studiendekanate äußerten Interesse an der Erarbeitung einer Richtlinie oder Vorlesung zu diesem Thema. 149 (14,4%) der Studierenden hatten bereits an einer Veranstaltung teilgenommen, die Beziehungen zwischen PU und Medizinstudierenden thematisiert und 779 (77,8%) wünschten sich mehr Unterricht dazu. 701 (73,4%) lehnten eine Verbesserung der Lehre durch finanzielle Unterstützung durch PU ab, wohingegen 216 (21,9%) der Meinung waren, dass Studierende sich nicht mit Vertretern von PU treffen sollten. Schlussfolgerungen: Im Gegensatz zu anderen Ländern wie den USA bestehen an deutschen medizinischen Fakultäten von wenigen Ausnahmen abgesehen keine Richtlinien zur Regelung des Umgangs von Medizinstudierenden mit pharmazeutischen Unternehmen. Da die Mehrheit der Studierenden sich mehr Informationen zu diesen Interaktionen wünscht, wäre die Etablierung entsprechender Vorlesungen bzw. Richtlinien sinnvoll.

Keywords: Conflict of interest; independence; medical training; pharmaceutical industry; teaching.

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Figures

Table 1
Table 1. Number of students per university and semester who have already attended a lecture on the topic of conflicts of interest (these do not necessarily have to have taken place at the same university!).
Table 2
Table 2. Level of knowledge amongst students surveyed (n=1024) of the existence of policies which regulate the interaction between medical students and the industry at their university
Table 3
Table 3. Responses from medical students on the role of pharmaceutical companies in medical training
Figure 1
Figure 1. Interest expressed by 30 deans of German universities in formulating policies or developing lecture courses on the topic of conflicts of interest (absolute numbers and percentage are given)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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