I was surprised to learn that Gordon Guyatt, coauthor of an influential paper on health care delivery,1 was also a candidate for the New Democratic Party during this year's federal election. The statement in the article claiming that there were no competing interests for any of the authors is as shocking as it is false. At the very least, medical studies published by politicians should be transparent about that fact.
William M. Nuttley University of Toronto Toronto, Ont.
Reference
- 1.Devereaux PJ, Heels-Ansdell D, Lacchetti C, Haines T, Burns KEA, Cook DJ, et al. Payments for care at private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. CMAJ 2004;170(12):1817-24. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed]