NASS is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics and professionalism throughout our association, which includes those in leadership positions, volunteers, educators at all levels and staff.
NASS is committed to the highest level of ethics for its members and has created an environment in which full disclosure is not only encouraged but mandatory for leadership and participation in NASS activities. The society recognizes that professional relationships with industry are essential for development of new spinal technologies and medical advancement. The Board of Directors ruled in October 2011 to make disclosure information, in range format, available to the general public. The disclosure index includes any disclosure information that was provided to NASS after February 2012.
You may update your disclosure by logging into your NASS My Account at: spine.org/disclosure
The default disclosure deadline is May 1. However, it is expected you update as soon as there are any changes to your relationships and/or when staff requests you update based on activities in which you are involved.
In general, NASS’ disclosure policy applies to NASS Participants. A NASS Participant is an individual involved in any NASS-related activity, such as: those who serve in committee and leadership positions within the society, authors on NASS publications, including but not limited to The Spine Journal (TSJ), SpineLine, Contemporary Concepts and Clinical Guidelines, and speakers, instructors, moderators or panelists for any NASS-related events. In some situations, limited disclosure requirements also apply to audience members at NASS-related CME events. NASS members or meeting attendees who are not further involved in any NASS-related activities beyond mere membership or attendance are encouraged, but not required, to make the disclosures called for in the NASS Disclosure Policy.
No. Members who do not participate in any activities listed above are not required to disclose as a condition of membership. However, if you attend a NASS CME event and you wish to ask a question/make a comment during a Q&A period (during a symposium, for instance), you will be asked to verbally disclose relationships that any reasonable observer would deem relevant.
No. As with ACCME policies which do not allow presenters to refuse to disclose, the NASS disclosure policy is mandatory. Disclosure according to the NASS policy is a requirement of participation in both NASS CME activities and as a NASS volunteer. Those who do not wish to disclose according to the NASS policy may not submit abstracts for NASS meetings or volunteer to serve on committees/task forces.
Yes. ACCME policies require verbal disclosure by the moderator or presenter. This verbal disclosure may reference the slide and indicate that more detailed information is available in the program.
All Participants in any NASS-related activities must disclose any of the following relationships that existed at any point in time twenty four (24) months prior to the date of disclosure: There are four categories a participants’ disclosure will fall into:
The NASS online disclosure module provides the ability to define the context of each relationship, with categories such as "consulting," "grants," and "royalties," as well as with text boxes which allow for clarification in the individual's own words. To view the online disclosure module and complete your own disclosure, visit spine.org/disclosure. In some cases, however, lengthy disclosures may be edited by staff for length, making every effort to retain the spirit of the disclosure (presenters are always given the chance to review their disclosure in final form prior to publication)
The information requested in the disclosure module (accessed at spine.org/disclosure) for stocks does not include a dollar value. NASS is aware that values fluctuate, or that there may be no value to options, etc. Information requested includes "number of shares" and "percentage of company" ONLY.
Level A. $100 to $1000 Level B. $1,001 to $10,000 Level C. $10,001 to $25,000 Level D. $25,001 to $50,000 Level E. $50,001 to $100,000 Level F. $100,001 to $500,000 Level G. $500,001 to $1M Level H. $1,000,001 to $2.5M Level I. Greater than $2.5M
If you have never disclosed with NASS before, the user-friendly module will walk you through the process. Just visit NASS MyAccount. You will need your member ID and password. If you don't have this information, you can retrieve it via the disclosure module log-in page or by contacting the Membership Department. Your disclosure needs to be updated ONCE per year (barring any changes in your relationships, or additional activities participated in with different deadlines). If you have disclosed with NASS before and need to update, your disclosure will be available to see in both itemized and sentence form. You have options to edit, remove, or add relationships as needed. When you are done, select “Submit Disclosure.” Once your disclosure is submitted, you will receive an email informing you of such and it will be available in the NASS Public Index within 2-4 business days.
Your disclosure will be accessible by the general public, NASS staff members, along with the audience of any NASS presentation. You may not “opt out” of having your disclosure publicly available. It will also be made readily available to the previously mentioned parties via the Final Program, Proceedings supplements, and on disclosure slides. In the case of questions regarding a volunteer or presenter’s disclosure, the information may also be reviewed by members of the Professional Conduct & Ethics Committee, the COI Review Panel, and/or the NASS Executive Committee.
In accordance with the North American Spine Society's (NASS) COI – Disclosure & Management Policy and manuscript submission guidelines recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), you will be asked to provide a comprehensive and universal disclosure form during the online submission process. EACH author must provide a universal disclosure, including dollar amounts in ranges for each financial relationship, using the ICMJE form (link provided at The Spine Journal, submission site: https://ees.elsevier.com/spinee/default.asp). The corresponding author is responsible for sending a blank form (or link to the form) to each author, and then collecting all completed forms to upload to the list of submission files. For additional information, please contact The Spine Journal, Managing Editor, Taylor Bowen, tbowen@spine.org.
Information included in the Final Program and Proceedings will be similar to that provided in prior years, in the format Name: Company - Relationship, followed by a letter representing the appropriate dollar range. Both publications will contain a key indicating the values that correspond to these ranges. A sample listing would be: Last Name, First Name: Company-Royalties, Level B; Company-Consulting, Level A
The COI Review Panel (COIRP) reviews disclosures for possible conflicts related to the involved party’s ability to maintain unbiased, ethical interactions while participating on their respective NASS activity. The protocol document for the COIRP can be viewed here. To solicit the advice of the COIRP, please send an e-mail to Jessica Yang, Manager of Ethics & Compliance. Your e-mail should include your question in its entirety, including, if applicable, the exact nature of the relationship in question and the NASS activity for which you are disclosing.
When submitting a complaint, you should send your letter to the address below. In your letter, be sure to mention specifically what part of the disclosure policy you feel the member/participant/author in question has violated, and include what evidence you have that contradicts their submitted disclosure. Jessica Yang - Manager of Ethics & Compliance North American Spine Society 150 Harvester Dr., Suite 111 Burr Ridge, IL 60527 (630) 230-3600
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the staff liaison in charge of the disclosure program: Jessica Yang, Manager of Ethics & Compliance via e-mail or (630) 230-3684.