General Pharmaceutical Council
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has joined eight other health and care professional regulators in publishing a joint statement on avoiding, declaring and managing conflicts of interest.
The regulatory bodies, which include the General Medical Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, say that “given the increasing move towards multi-disciplinary teams, there is great value in working together for a consistent approach.”
The joint statement, which is intended to support each profession’s own standards or code, lays out seven expectations of health and care professionals working across healthcare settings, including ensuring that “professional judgement is not compromised by personal, financial or commercial interests, incentives, targets or similar measures.”
Accompanying the joint statement are case studies prepared by each regulatory body, illustrating circumstances in which potential conflicts of interest may arise and providing examples of good practice in dealing with such conflicts.
“As health and care regulators, we share a commitment to collaborating on issues that affect patient safety and care, and the trust they place in the professionals who provide that care”, said Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC.
“By working closely with our fellow regulators, we are underlining the consistent expectations of health professionals in managing conflicts of interest, to help give patients and the public the assurance that their interests will always be put above any other interest a health professional may have.”
