Transparency in research and its effect on the perception of research integrity

Pharmaceutical companies routinely engage faculty from academic medical centers to participate in biomedical research. Faculty contribute expertise and research subjects and often receive considerable compensation for their efforts. Because the role of the researcher can be compromised by financial conflicts of interest, disclosure of such relationships is routinely required. The effect of such disclosure is not entirely clear, however, and studies have yielded inconsistent results on how those receiving financial disclosures perceive the integrity of the research. Reviewing the literature, we conclude there is little consensus on how the disclosure of a financial relationship with an industry sponsor affects confidence in the research. We also conclude that is it unclear whether the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will substantially alter the landscape.