Changes

To maximize their impact, guidelines should be free of conflicts of interest (COI) – situations in which the judgment of an individual involved in developing a guideline is unduly influenced (or seen to be unduly influenced) by a secondary interest (such as the opportunity to derive personal benefit).<ref name=":4" />

To maximize their impact, guidelines should be free of conflicts of interest (COI) – situations in which the judgment of an individual involved in developing a guideline is unduly influenced (or seen to be unduly influenced) by a secondary interest (such as the opportunity to derive personal benefit).<ref name=":4" />

Given several high-profile news stories within and outside Canada,<ref>Johnson L, Stricker RB. Attorney General forces Infectious Diseases Society of America to redo Lyme guidelines due to flawed development process. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2009;35:283-288.</ref><ref>Lenzer J. French guidelines are withdrawn after court finds potential bias among authors. BMJ. 2011 Jun 24;342:d4007. </ref><ref>Howlett, K. Conflicts of interest didn’t influence new opioid standards: review. The Globe and Mail [online]. September 7, 2017. Available from: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/conflicts-of-interest-didnt-influence-new-opioid-standards-review/article36199835/</ref><ref>Dwyer, D. WHO drops opioid guidelines after criticism of corporate influence. The BMJ. 2019:365. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4374</ref><ref>Cosgrove L, Bursztajn HJ, Erlich DR, Wheeler EE, Shaughnessy AF. Conflict of interest and clinical guidelines. J Eval Clin Pract. 2013;19: 674-681.</ref><ref>The Canadian Press. Co-author of controversial meat study did not disclose ties to ‘classic front group’. National Post. October 5, 2019. Available from: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/scientist-responds-to-critique-of-industry-ties-after-publishing-study-on-red-meat</ref><ref>Cohen D, Brown E. Surgeons withdraw support for heart disease advice. BBC Newsnight. December 9, 2019. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50715156.</ref><ref>Connolly A. Canadians can now see conflicts of interest declared by COVID-19 vaccine task force. Sept 22, 2020. Available from:https://globalnews.ca/news/7351016/covid-19-vaccine-task-force-conflicts-of-interest-disclosures/</ref><ref>Lexchin J, Mintzes B, Bero L, Gagnon M-A, Grundy Q. Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force needs better transparency about potential conflicts of interest. Oct 8, 2020. Available from:https://newsroom.carleton.ca/story/covid-19-vaccine-task-force/</ref> the health community that benefits from evidence-based guidance and policy, and Canadians more generally, are increasingly aware of the importance of disclosing and managing COI in guidelines. These examples demonstrate the considerable reputational and other risks that poorly managed COI in the context of guidelines could pose to PHAC and its partners. Beyond that, proper management of COI is an established criterion for assessing guideline quality.<ref>Brouwers MC, Kho ME, Browman GP, Burgers J, Cluzeau F, Feder G, Fervers B, Graham, ID, Grimshaw J, Hanna S, Littlejohns P, Makarski J, Zitzelsberger L on behalf of the AGREE Next Steps Consortium. AGREE II: Advancing guideline development, reporting and evaluation in healthcare.  Can Med Assoc J.  2010;182:E839-842.</ref>  

Given several high-profile news stories within and outside Canada,<ref>Johnson L, Stricker RB. Attorney General forces Infectious Diseases Society of America to redo Lyme guidelines due to flawed development process. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2009;35:283-288.</ref><ref>Lenzer J. French guidelines are withdrawn after court finds potential bias among authors. BMJ. 2011 Jun 24;342:d4007. </ref><ref>Howlett, K. Conflicts of interest didn’t influence new opioid standards: review. The Globe and Mail [online]. September 7, 2017. Available from: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/conflicts-of-interest-didnt-influence-new-opioid-standards-review/article36199835/</ref><ref>Dwyer, D. WHO drops opioid guidelines after criticism of corporate influence. The BMJ. 2019:365. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4374</ref><ref>Cosgrove L, Bursztajn HJ, Erlich DR, Wheeler EE, Shaughnessy AF. Conflict of interest and clinical guidelines. J Eval Clin Pract. 2013;19: 674-681.</ref><ref>The Canadian Press. Co-author of controversial meat study did not disclose ties to ‘classic front group’. National Post. October 5, 2019. Available from: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/scientist-responds-to-critique-of-industry-ties-after-publishing-study-on-red-meat</ref><ref>Cohen D, Brown E. Surgeons withdraw support for heart disease advice. BBC Newsnight. December 9, 2019. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50715156.</ref><ref>Connolly A. Canadians can now see conflicts of interest declared by COVID-19 vaccine task force. Sept 22, 2020. Available from:https://globalnews.ca/news/7351016/covid-19-vaccine-task-force-conflicts-of-interest-disclosures/</ref><ref>Lexchin J, Mintzes B, Bero L, Gagnon M-A, Grundy Q. Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force needs better transparency about potential conflicts of interest. The Conversation. Oct 8, 2020. Available from:https://theconversation.com/canadas-covid-19-vaccine-task-force-needs-better-transparency-about-potential-conflicts-of-interest-147323</ref> the health community that benefits from evidence-based guidance and policy, and Canadians more generally, are increasingly aware of the importance of disclosing and managing COI in guidelines. These examples demonstrate the considerable reputational and other risks that poorly managed COI in the context of guidelines could pose to PHAC and its partners. Beyond that, proper management of COI is an established criterion for assessing guideline quality.<ref>Brouwers MC, Kho ME, Browman GP, Burgers J, Cluzeau F, Feder G, Fervers B, Graham, ID, Grimshaw J, Hanna S, Littlejohns P, Makarski J, Zitzelsberger L on behalf of the AGREE Next Steps Consortium. AGREE II: Advancing guideline development, reporting and evaluation in healthcare.  Can Med Assoc J.  2010;182:E839-842.</ref>  

PHAC has taken steps towards addressing the issue of COI in guideline development by hosting a Best Brains Exchange on the topic<ref name=":5">Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Reducing and managing conflicts of interest in clinical practice guideline development: do we need Pan-Canadian standards? Government of Canada, 2019. Available from: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51455.html</ref> in collaboration with CIHR. This meeting, which took place in January 2019, brought together over 60 participants representing academia, guideline producing groups from Canada and internationally, journal editors, and federal and provincial governments.  

PHAC has taken steps towards addressing the issue of COI in guideline development by hosting a Best Brains Exchange on the topic<ref name=":5">Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Reducing and managing conflicts of interest in clinical practice guideline development: do we need Pan-Canadian standards? Government of Canada, 2019. Available from: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51455.html</ref> in collaboration with CIHR. This meeting, which took place in January 2019, brought together over 60 participants representing academia, guideline producing groups from Canada and internationally, journal editors, and federal and provincial governments.