Introduction
There are widespread financial relationships between physicians and
healthcare industry, not merely for research-oriented endeavors but also
for non-research activities such as consultative services and
promotional initiatives. These financial relationships could cause to
conflicts of interest among physicians. Previous studies have shown that
more than 80% of infectious disease physicians received non-research
payments from the industry for items such as food and beverages,
stationery, textbooks, and lecture fees,[1] while 16.0% received
research funding between 2013 and 2021 in the United States (US).[2]
These payments are disproportionately concentrated among a small number
of influential physicians, including clinical guideline authors, society
leaders, and journal editors.[3-6] These financial relationships not
only have ethical implications but also might directly or indirectly
affect patient care by potentially biasing research outcomes,
prescribing patterns, and clinical guidelines.[7] For journal
editors, these financial relationships might jeopardize editorial
decisions.[5,8]