Conflicts of Interest

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is committed to conducting its affairs in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards. In order to maintain these standards, it is the policy of the Hospital that potential, perceived and actual conflicts of interest are to be avoided. A conflict of interest is any circumstance where personal, professional, financial or other private interests of a person (or institution) do or have the potential to compromise or bias the exercise of professional judgment or obligations, or may be perceived as doing so.

Advances in medicine depend on a constructive partnership between academic medicine and the pharmaceutical, device, and biotechnology industries. Industry collaborations with medical schools, hospitals and biomedical research institutions are critical to furthering research efforts and accelerating innovative patient care. These collaborations can benefit research and its translation into useful products. However, the financial incentives that accompany such involvement may lead to conflicts of interest. We are fully committed to a process that ensures integrity in innovation and places the interests of our patients first.

To protect against the potential risks posed by conflicts of interest, including in the research and clinical settings, the Hospital has adopted a Conflicts of Interest Policy. The policy provides standards for determining the existence of conflicts of interest, the requirements for disclosing conflicts, and the process for reducing, managing or eliminating conflicts.

The Conflicts of Interest Policy is also designed to support institutional compliance with federal regulations on conflicts of interest in research funded by the Public Health Service (PHS).

To request certain information regarding a financial conflict of interest for an investigator on a PHS-funded study, as specified in the federal regulations and the Conflicts of Interest Policy, you must contact the Hospital’s Office of Compliance and Privacy in writing at COI@email.chop.edu. The Office will respond within five business days of the receipt of a request.


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