What are the guidelines for author relationships with industry and other entities?
The ACC Task Force on Expert Consensus Decision Pathways requires all members of the writing committee, as well as peer reviewers of the document, to disclose all current healthcare-related relationships, including those existing 12 months before initiation of the writing effort. The task force reviews these disclosures to determine what companies make products (on market or in development) that pertain to the document under development. The writing committee is then formed to include a majority of members with no relevant relationships with industry (RWI), led by a chair with no relevant RWI. RWI is reviewed on all conference calls and updated as changes occur. Additionally, to ensure complete transparency, authors must provide comprehensive disclosure information including RWI not pertinent to the document in a Supplemental Appendix. Disclosure information for the ACC Task Force on Expert Consensus Decision Pathways is also available online, as well as the ACC disclosure policy for document development.