More than a third of GPs on clinical commissioning group (CCG) boards have a conflict of interest due to directorships or shares held in private companies, according to an investigation by the BMJ.
More than a third of GPs on clinical commissioning group (CCG) boards have a conflict of interest due to directorships or shares held in private companies, according to an investigation by the BMJ.
The BMJ used Freedom of Information requests and CCG websites to analyse registered interests of 2,500 board members across 176 of the 211 CCGs in England.
It found 36 per cent of the 1,179 GPs in executive positions had a financial interest in a for-profit private provider beyond their GP practice - a provider from which their CCG could potentially commission services.
In some cases, the majority of GPs on the CCG governing body had financial interests in the same private healthcare provider.