Critics Assail J&J’s Sponsorship Of High-Profile Physician Conference Exploring Conflict Of Interests

Stat: Health Care Event About Conflicts Of Interest Has Conflict Itself, Critics Say
In an effort to better understand how conflicts of interest may affect health care, the New York Academy of Sciences is hosting a high-profile conference this coming June with panels featuring more than two dozen prominent academics and a smattering of people from industry, government, and the nonprofit world who will be encouraged to think big thoughts and parse nuanced scenarios. But the event is generating something of a dustup as a handful of prospective panelists have declined to participate. In their view, the conference will be sullied by corporate sponsorship — Johnson & Johnson is underwriting the gathering — and there is concern the health care giant has a vested interest in managing and influencing how conflicts in the world of medicine are perceived and handled. (Silverman, 2/27)

Stat: Physician Practice Consolidation: It’s Only Just Begun 
Disruption has redefined health care in the past decade. For private practice physicians, the biggest disruptor has been consolidation. The trend of local hospitals merging into massive health systems has significantly affected private practices. According to Avalere Health and the Physicians Advisory Institute, between 2016 and 2018 hospitals acquired 8,000 medical practices and 14,000 physicians left private practice to work in hospitals. (Suthrum, 2/27)