Conflict of Interest Task Force

CONFLICT OF INTEREST Task Force by Mark Meissner, MD, FAVLS, DABVLM

By Mark Meissner, MD, FAVLS, DABVLM

While many of the American Vein & Lymphatic Society’s initiatives are driven by our long-range strategic plan of advocacy, research, and education, others are more short-term and are undertaken at the request of our members. Such initiatives encourage direct participation in society activities, with recent examples including the phlebectomy coding and the venous ulcer task forces. One additional task force was created in 2020 to review the Disclosure Policies of the AVLS. The COI (Conflict of Interest) Task Force was developed to review the current disclosure policies of the AVLS and how potential conflicts of interest are handled.

We recognize that many of our members and leadership have developed various relationships with commercial entities over the years ranging from consultation to advisory, research, and various levels of employment and financial interest. While we recognize that these relationships are significant to advancing the field in general, these relationships also present the potential to develop into a conflict of interest when working and volunteering for the Society. Furthermore, we recognize and appreciate the participation of our commercial partners in achieving our mutual goals of improving patient access to appropriate care through educational activities such as our Annual Congress. Concerns by our members over perceived conflicts of interest in the field over the past several years led to the development of this task force to take a fresh look at our policies and procedures for our leadership, committee service, and educational activities.

Participating in the task force are Cindy Asbjornsen, John Blebea, Steve Elias, K. Francis Lee, Chris Pittman, Jeff Schoonover, and Mark Meissner - Chair with staff support from Dean Bender, Executive Director, Joyce King, Director of Continuing Education and John Mangold, Managing Director of FVLD & Corporate Relations. Following various research and several deliberations, the task force made the following policy recommendations that the AVLS Board of Directors approved on May 10, 2021.

LEADERSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS

• Board members are required to disclose all financial relationships of any amount that they have had with any commercial interests over the previous 24 months.

• Board members will recuse themselves from any discussions of or voting on matters regarding entities with whom they have a conflict of interest.

• Board members are asked not to speak on behalf of any entity, product, or service at events tied to the AVLS Annual Congress, including events such as industry-sponsored satellite symposia and receptions.

• Board members are encouraged to consider donating income derived from industry relationships to the Foundation for Venous & Lymphatic Disease.

COMMITTEE SERVICE

• Committee volunteers are required to disclose all financial relationships of any amount that they have had with any commercial interests over the previous 24 months.

• Committee volunteers will recuse themselves from any discussions of or voting on matters regarding entities with whom they have a conflict of interest.

EDUCATIONAL PARTICIPATION

The AVLS is an accredited body of the ACCME and, as such, adheres to all requirements related to disclosures and conflict resolution as prescribed (standards resources). A few key highlights are;

• All Organizers, faculty, and speakers at any AVLS Educational event eligible for continuing education credits are required to disclose all financial relationships of any amount that they have had with any commercial interests over the previous 24 months.

• All disclosures are subject to verification by the AVLS. An AVLS peer review committee will review any potential conflicts of interest that arise from a disclosure and resolve the conflict prior to the educational event. While a speaker’s disclosures are required to be presented at an educational event, it is essential to understand that any disclosures that could be a conflict of interest for the presenter have been resolved before being permitted to present.

These measures will hopefully eliminate even the appearance of conflicts of interest among members of the Board of Directors, Committee Volunteers, and our Distinguished Educational Faculty and provide an example of the pathway by which the Society can address member issues. If you have a concern or particular interest, all members are encouraged to contact the Board of Directors to discuss how it can be best addressed.