A clinical conflict of interest can occur whenever a clinician, who has the ability to decide between competing products, devices, pharmaceuticals, or services in the management of their patients, has a financial interest in any one of these products. Risk of a conflict is particularly high when that financial interest could impact College of Medicine or Penn State Hershey purchasing decisions.

It is important that any significant financial interests which involve professional practice should be disclosed to the University (see disclosure tab on this website).

Further, the clinician should provide some public source of information, which would be accessible to patients as well as students, identifying the existence of a financial relationship with a particular commercial business interest or corporation. A faculty member may effectively utilize their personal profile on their department’s public website to include, along with their other professional qualifications and distinctions any roles they play, or interests they may have, in private organizations or companies. This could include statements such as “consultant for”, on “an advisory board for”, or “an officer of” the corporation or financial interest. This same vehicle could be used to provide public notice that a faculty member has a patent or other intellectual property interests in a specific product or device.