Conflicts of interest with the hand surgeon's relationship with industry

Many advances in hand surgery have been supported and enabled by the integral relationship that exists between the profession of hand surgery and industry. This relationship takes many forms, including medical education, development of new technology and methodology, research, and opportunities for patient education. As with all of these endeavors, the primary focus of both the physician and industry must be the care of the patient. When a collaborative relationship exists between physicians and industry, a conflict of interest is present and must be recognized as such and managed to avoid any detriment to patient care. Although the hand surgeon, the patient, and industry share the common interest of advancement of patient care, there does exist real and potential conflicts of interest, which are unavoidable, but not necessarily undesirable. Multiple guidelines exist to govern relationships between industry and physicians. The cooperative relationship between the physician and industry is not only helpful, but it can be critical to the advancement of and innovations in patient care. When properly managed, collaboration between the physician and industry can effectively achieve the common goal of serving the best interest of the patient.