‘Bias in choosing the question is a much bigger issue than lying about the data’

Robert Califf takes questions about conflict of interest from Harlan Krumholz. Here are a few choice quotes. Read the entire Q&A on CardioExchange.

…focusing exclusively on the medical products industry and failing to consider other sources of conflict of interest is a huge mistake and leads to sensationalism that then engenders reactive rules that add to bureaucracy rather than addressing the real issues.

…a despotic, egotistical principal investigator can be just as dangerous as a controlling funding organization. Like our constitution, trials need a balance of power…

Bias in choosing the question is a much bigger issue than lying about the data.

…lying about the data is rare. Lying by omission (not looking at aspects of the data) is much more common.