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Review
. 2024 Apr 19;31(5):1206-1210.
doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocae063.

Perspectives on the role of industry in informatics research and authorship

Howard R Strasberg  1 , Gretchen Purcell Jackson  2   3 , Suzanne R Bakken  4 , Aziz Boxwala  5 , Joshua E Richardson  6 , Jon D Morrow  7
Affiliations
Review

Perspectives on the role of industry in informatics research and authorship

Howard R Strasberg et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. .

Abstract

Objectives: Advances in informatics research come from academic, nonprofit, and for-profit industry organizations, and from academic-industry partnerships. While scientific studies of commercial products may offer critical lessons for the field, manuscripts authored by industry scientists are sometimes categorically rejected. We review historical context, community perceptions, and guidelines on informatics authorship.

Process: We convened an expert panel at the American Medical Informatics Association 2022 Annual Symposium to explore the role of industry in informatics research and authorship with community input. The panel summarized session themes and prepared recommendations.

Conclusions: Authorship for informatics research, regardless of affiliation, should be determined by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors uniform requirements for authorship. All authors meeting criteria should be included, and categorical rejection based on author affiliation is unethical. Informatics research should be evaluated based on its scientific rigor; all sources of bias and conflicts of interest should be addressed through disclosure and, when possible, methodological mitigation.

Keywords: authorship; conflict of interest; health care sector; informatics; publication bias.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

S.R.B. is Editor-in-Chief of JAMIA, and her role includes oversight of journal content as well as implementation of practices to ensure that ICMJE criteria for authorship are met; she receives a stipend from AMIA for these services. J.D.M. was previously employed by Pfizer, GE Healthcare, and MDClone. H.R.S., G.P.J., A.B., and J.E.R. have no competing interests to declare beyond their listed affiliations.

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