Taking disclosure seriously: Disclosing financial conflicts of interest at the American College of Surgeons

Background: The accurate disclosure of financial conflicts of interest has come to light as a sound component of managing relationships between surgeons and industry. Study Design In this study, we summarize and categorize 4 years of disclosures (2006-2009) given by presenters at the Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Results We report 3,122 disclosures by 480 individuals. "Colorectal surgeon" was the most common profession among disclosers. The most common type of disclosure was "consulting." The company with the highest number of disclosures was Covidien. Disclosers used 195 different terms to describe their relationships. Conclusions We propose a standard nomenclature for use by surgeons when disclosing future conflicts of interest. As the attention to disclosures increases, sound policy decisions would be facilitated by such a standardized nomenclature system.