The Rheumatologist interviews Karen Brandt Onel, MD, rheumatologist and chief of pediatric rheumatology at HSS, as the new chair of ACR’s [American College of Rheumatology] Committee on Ethics & Conflict of Interest.

Dr. Onel discussed her background and interest in ethics, stating “I’ve always been fascinated by issues related to ethics and, in particular, the ethics of proxy consent, such as when a parent agrees to have [their] child in a study. I have served on institutional review boards (IRBs) for most of my career and was vice chair of the IRB at the University of Chicago. Over time, in addition to my interest in medical ethics, my interest in the effects of conflicts of interest has grown – along with the rest of the world’s interest, it seems: It is so common now to hear conflicts of interest discussed on the news and [see the issues] on the front page of the paper."

When it comes to current ethics-related challenges for rheumatologists, Dr. Onel explained, “We need to think about conflicts—not just real conflicts, but apparent conflicts—in order to retain the public trust. Without that trust, the doctor-patient relationship can be damaged and interfere with best practices.”

Read the article at the-rheumatologist.org.

Additional coverage: the-rheumatologist.org