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23. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung

Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung e. V.

24.09. - 27.09.2024, Potsdam

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Institutional conflicts of interest in studies investigating the volume-outcome relationship of clinical procedures

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  • Charlotte M Kugler - Institut für Versorgungs- und Gesundheitssystemforschung (IVGF), Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg (Theodor Fontane), Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Deutschland; Zentrum für Versorgungsforschung, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg (Theodor Fontane), Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Deutschland
  • Käthe Goossen - Institut für Forschung in der Operativen Medizin, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Köln, Deutschland
  • Elie A. Akl - Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
  • Dawid Pieper - Institut für Versorgungs- und Gesundheitssystemforschung (IVGF), Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg (Theodor Fontane), Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Deutschland; Zentrum für Versorgungsforschung, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg (Theodor Fontane), Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Deutschland

23. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung (DKVF). Potsdam, 25.-27.09.2024. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2024. Doc24dkvf431

doi: 10.3205/24dkvf431, urn:nbn:de:0183-24dkvf4310

Published: September 10, 2024

© 2024 Kugler et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

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Background: Published evidence of relationships between hospital volume and outcomes for clinical procedures has led to policies aimed at centralising the provision of some of those procedures. Authors of primary studies may have an interest to influence health policy decisions by preferentially publishing research results that favour the volume category of the hospital with which they are affiliated. This can be considered a form of institutional conflict of interest (COI). Institutional COIs may compromise patient care by biasing health policy decisions.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the existence of institutional COIs in volume-outcome studies.

Methods: We used a sample of studies included in a systematic review on the hospital volume-outcome relationship in total knee arthroplasty. For studies in which at least one of the authors was affiliated with a hospital, we contacted the study authors by e-mail to obtain their institutional volume and to survey them about their opinion on institutional COIs. We categorised the study’s conclusions (positive vs. non-positive) and author’s hospital volume (high, intermediate, low). We compared conclusions for high vs. intermediate/low hospital volume categories. The survey results were analysed descriptively.