http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7314/652/c
BMJ 2001;323:652 ( 22 September )
Bryan Christie Edinburgh
Proposals have been put forward to establish a national organisation in the
United Kingdom that would identify and investigate suspected cases of fraud and
misconduct in clinical and biological research.
It would aim to promote high standards in research to help prevent
misconduct and would have powers to investigate in cases giving rise to
suspicion.
The plans, for a government funded national panel for research integrity,
have been put forward by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and the Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Medicine. The plans are to be discussed at a meeting in London
on 15 October, organised by the Committee on Publication Ethics.
The proposals arose out of a consensus conference held almost two years ago
in Edinburgh, which identified the need for a national panel in the United
Kingdom to deal with misconduct in research. It concluded that the United
Kingdom was lagging behind countries, such as the United States and Denmark,
where procedures have already been introduced.
The proposed panel would include representatives from medical, public,
charitable, academic, and pharmaceutical organisations. It would aim to develop
and maintain standards in the conduct of research, although this would not
include direct audit or accreditation of research, which would be
"impractical and unaffordable."
The panel would encourage research institutions to develop procedures for
"internal research governance." Institutions would be able to call on
the national panel to conduct confidential investigations where misconduct was
suspected.
Discussions with the UK government on funding such a body have so far been
positive. Professor Gordon Lowe, from the Royal College of Physicians of
Edinburgh, who has helped draw up the plans, said: "This blueprint is the
first stage in developing a model for a system which would allow health
professionals and the public alike to have full confidence in the quality and
standard of biomedical research in the UK."
Professor Mike Farthing, chairman of the Committee on Publication Ethics,
said the publication of the blueprint for a national panel was a step forward.
"The real question is, will it be able to deliver what is needed? That is
what we will be examining at the meeting next month."
Information about the 15 October meeting can
be found at the website of the Committee on Publication Ethics (www.publicationethics.org.uk).
The details of the proposals can be found at www.rcpe.ac.uk/press/misconduct_blueprint.pdf
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