The Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee recommends to the Board policies for addressing biomedical ethical issues as well as organizational ethical issues, including conflicts of interest. Its goal is to ensure that the ATS is ethical in conduct and effective in advocacy on ethical issues important to the patients we serve. The Committee monitors relevant policies of other societies and reviews recommendations from healthcare experts, ethicists, and other resources to maintain the professional standing and integrity of the Society in all its affairs. In addition, it serves as a resource to review issues of ethics and conflict of interest for the ATS and advises the ATS President, Executive Committee, assemblies and other relevant committees on rapidly emerging issues related to biomedical and organizational ethics, including conflict of interest.

Benchmarks, 2024-2025:
1. Advise and assist the Executive Committee and other ATS stakeholders, such as the Council of the ATS, Board of Directors, other president-appointed committees, chapters, individual members, and staff in responding to matters of bioethics (i.e., clinical or research related) and organizational ethics (such as the mitigation of member and organizational conflicts of interest, compliance with the policy on professionalism and ethical conduct, and ATS activities affected by public policies perceived to cause ethical harm to members, their patients, and the communities they serve)
2. Improve ATS resources for members on matters of ethical concern in pulmonary medicine, critical care, and sleep medicine.
A. Identify and promote important resources of the ATS and other sources, such as articles and other online information, available to assist members in addressing bioethical issues.
B. Contribute to the development and review of new ATS resources relevant to biomedical and organizational ethics issues. Recommend to the Steering Committee on Advancement and Learning (SCALe) and its staff topics on bioethical issues that are, or are expected to be, of particular concern to members, and worthy of consideration for ATS educational initiatives and resources.
C. Contribute to the inclusion of topics related to bioethics, professionalism and ethical conduct, and conflict of interest within International Conference sessions and other ATS educational programs. Propose or participate in programs and conduct outreach to the Steering Committee on Advancement and Learning (SCALe), Assembly program committees, International Conference Committee, Chapters, and staff, to discuss member needs and the availability of the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee as a resource.
D. Advise and assist the Documents Development and Implementation Committee, Documents Editor, document developers, and staff in promoting and developing clinical practice guidelines and other official documents of importance to biomedical and organizational ethics.
E. Advise and assist the Journals editors and staff in addressing matters of importance to Journal readers pertaining to biomedical and organizational ethics matters, such as through participation in a clinical ethics series or other initiatives.
3. Oversee and improve implementation and adjudication of ATS policies and procedures for managing conflicts of interest (COI).
A. Expand online offerings that include a series of podcasts and webinars and development of an online curriculum. Collaborate with relevant committees and staff such as Communications and Learning.
B. Assess and contribute to implementation and use of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Convey COI system as the means of online COI disclosure, review, and data management for official ATS roles and activities, with particular attention to compliance with requirements of the Accreditation Council for Medical Education (ACCME) and maintenance of certification.
C. Improve procedures and resources used in ATS activities to review conflicts of interest and inform stakeholders of them. Stakeholders include: key leaders and others in ATS governance; planners, presenters, supporters, and learners of ATS CME; authors, editors, and readers of ATS documents and journals; members; policymakers; the public.
D. Advise and assist staff and other stakeholders in the application and adjudication of ATS COI policies.
4. Implement and assess the Committee's role in the investigation and adjudication of matters of professionalism and ethical conduct in ATS activities, including sexual harassment, as assigned to the Committee by ATS policies and charges.
5. Assist the Awards Committee by reviewing award candidates for compliance with policies on professionalism and ethical conduct and conflicts of interest.
6. Contribute to the review and updating of ATS policies and papers that encourage collaborative science involving the ATS, its members, and industry, in compliance with conflict of interest and ethics policies.
7. Review the content that the committee has previously posted to the ATS website to determine if it should be updated and moved to the new site or archived/deleted. Using parameters established by the ATS Digital Content Committee as a guideline, make necessary modifications to ensure the content is accurate and conforms with established ATS standards. Reviews are to be completed by December 1, 2024.