More on the U conflict of interest scandals

"Ethics reform for the medical school could have been open to public perceptions. In the end, it just didn't feel that way." Gary Schwitzer writes in the Daily.

Addendum: Schwitzer follows up on his Health News Blog, including this comment on Frank Cerra's editorial in The Minnesota Daily.

"How does he know the effort was misrepresented? He never attended one of the task force meetings. Whom does he refer to as the 'few who seem to want to influence the outcome outside of the process'? That’s a pretty vague broad-brushed attack against anyone who comments.

But his emphasis on the faculty’s thinking and the faculty’s voice is most troubling of all.

That shows the lack of a grasp for the importance of public input on the school’s conflict of interest policy – the very point of my guest column."