Spring 2008
Vol. 12, No. 2 | to Spring 08 pdf >>


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CONFLICT OF INTEREST, INFORMED CONSENT, HUMAN AND ANIMALS RIGHTS
The Permanente Journal requires that all authors, reviewers, and editors disclose any potential conflicts of interest. The potential for conflict of interest may exist whether or not an individual believes that the relationship affects his or her scientific judgment. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, etc), are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and of science itself. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion. Editorial Board conflicts are published once each year.

Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Complete anonymity is recognizably difficult to achieve and informed consent must be obtained if there is any doubt. The Journal requires that authors submit proof of informed consent where applicable.

When reporting experiments on human subjects, all authors are required to indicate if the procedures followed the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000(5). Authors are required to indicate, when reporting experiments involving animals, whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.