Financial relationships between industry and the nation's medical schools and large teaching hospitals are widespread, according to a study published in the October 17 issue of JAMA. This may not be surprising to some, but this the first study to quantify the prevalence of such relationships in the country's academic medical institutions.

Researchers and physicians from Mass. General Hospital, the University of Michigan, and the Association of American Medical Colleges, surveyed department chairs at 140 of America's leading medical academic institutions and found that 60 percent of the respondents reported some personal connection to industry. Department-wide relationships with industry were even more prevalent, with 80 percent of clinical departments and 43 percent of non-clinical departments reporting at least one connection to industry.

The majority of respondents said that either departmental or personal financial ties to industry did not affect the successful management of academic institutions - in terms of recruiting and retaining faculty, among other functions - or that the effect was positive. But the majority of respondents said that having a chair with some substantial ownership role in a start-up, with consulting ties, or with board membership in companies would have a negative effect on that department's ability to pursue independent, unbiased research.

The study authors end with a call for increased disclosure and management of industry relationships in medical schools and teaching hospitals. From the paper: "Failure to address the existence and influence of industry relationships with academics institutions could endanger the trust of the public in US medical schools and teaching hospitals."