What the New England Journal of Medicine did

During the decade of the 1990s, when I was editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, we rejected anyone who had a conflict of interest from writing an editorial or review article.1 Sometimes it required going down the list until we found someone who didn’t have a conflict, but we never had to compromise and accept someone without sufficient expertise to do a good job. I also think it’s often a good idea to get someone who isn’t too close to the action: it often avoids “group think” and provides a fresh perspective. But to maintain our 1990s policy takes more work because you can’t just accept the first person who pops into your mind. I was disappointed when the journal changed the policy, and said so publicly.