Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: Raymond Gibbons

In accordance with Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the "Academy shall make its best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on [a] committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and the Academy determines that the conflict is unavoidable." A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. As specified in the Academy's policy and procedures (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi/index.html), an objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.

We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include among others, at least one person who has been involved in a leadership capacity in all aspects of the development of high quality clinical practice guidelines.

To meet the need for this expertise and experience, Dr. Raymond Gibbons is proposed for appointment to the committee even though we have concluded that he has a conflict of interest because he has played a leadership role in, and is strongly identified with, the development of a number of practice guidelines for the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. The committee’s study of standards for developing clinical practice guidelines will involve, at least indirectly, consideration of the appropriateness of the standards followed in developing the guidelines with which Dr. Gibbons is associated.

As his biographical summary makes clear, Dr. Gibbons is a nationally recognized expert in clinical practice guidelines development. His familiarity with all aspects of the complex process of clinical practice guidelines development is critical for the committee in meeting its task. We believe that Dr. Gibbons can serve effectively as a member of the committee and that the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the work.

After an extensive search, we have been unable to find another individual with experience and expertise equivalent to Dr. Gibbons who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable.