ENSURING OBJECTIVITY
The Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Academy of Neurology, and American College of Rheumatology formed a six-member conflict of interest review group to review and approve the Lyme disease panel members.
As with all guidelines panels, there was an acceptable balance of people with and without conflicts of interest. Neither our four guideline co-chairs nor the majority of the remainder of our panel had any relevant conflicts of interest.
However, it was essential to include physicians who have expertise in Lyme disease. This means that almost by definition, the panel couldn’t be entirely conflict-free. Those who did have conflicts were in the minority and the guidelines transparently list those who have conflicts and describe the nature of the conflict.
To represent the patient point of view, four patient representatives served on the panel. We also gave patients the opportunity to weigh in before the guidelines were finalized during a public comment period that was open from June 26-Sept. 9, 2019. Feedback gathered during the public comment period was taken into consideration by the guidelines panel before the document was approved for publication.
As with all guidelines panels, there was an acceptable balance of people with and without conflicts of interest. Neither our four guideline co-chairs nor the majority of the remainder of our panel had any relevant conflicts of interest.
However, it was essential to include physicians who have expertise in Lyme disease. This means that almost by definition, the panel couldn’t be entirely conflict-free. Those who did have conflicts were in the minority and the guidelines transparently list those who have conflicts and describe the nature of the conflict.
To represent the patient point of view, four patient representatives served on the panel. We also gave patients the opportunity to weigh in before the guidelines were finalized during a public comment period that was open from June 26-Sept. 9, 2019. Feedback gathered during the public comment period was taken into consideration by the guidelines panel before the document was approved for publication.
