justinreilly
Senior Member
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I just posted an explanation of the IOM's conflict of interest policy on my blog. The discussion includes some of the other aspects of selecting IOM panels, including the requirement that the panel be highly competent in the issues, and fairly balanced in membership points of view.
ooo… what is this requirement that 'the panel be highly competent in the issues'? It seems that a panel of mostly non experts would not be highly competent in the issues, if by 'the issues' they mean the issues they are to decide, i.e. an MEcfs case definition.
If no one on the panel has actual experience with ME/CFS patients, it fails to meet IOM's self-established standards. Personally, I think there's a huge distinction between there being no obligation for a public call for nominations, and the prediction that there is no obligation for experts to have actual experience with patients.
I think it's obvious that people aren't only worried about a situation in which there is not one person with ME clinical experience, but the apparently ok by their own rules situation of having only a very few ME clinicians.