Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest, as it pertains to veterinary medicine, is a situation in which the veterinarian has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult for the veterinarian to fulfill his or her duties impartially. A conflict of interest can exist even if no unethical or improper act results from it; however, it can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in the person or profession.

The AAEP suggests the following guidelines for its members:

1. A veterinarian should strongly consider whether or not to render services to a client if in doing so the veterinarian’s independent professional judgment will be adversely affected by a personal, professional or financial relationship with either the client or a third party.

2. A veterinarian should strongly consider whether or not to render services to a client if the services to that client will be adversely affected by the veterinarian’s responsibilities to another client, a third party or the veterinarian’s own interests.

3. Veterinarians provided endorsements and/or testimonials for commercial products should state if they are being compensated for their support. This includes veterinarians that have ownership interest in the product.