Workloads, member qualifications, and potential conflicts of interest are concerns when assessing the performance of institutional review boards, according to a recent article in Modern Healthcare. This scrutiny of IRB operations coincides with the announced proposal to revise the Common Rule, which is the federal regulation that outlines the requirements for research involving human subjects. IRB membership and responsibilities are among the areas addressed by the Common Rule. The article cites some research that has been done on IRBs and member qualifications.
While you may not agree with everything the article says, we strongly encourage you to read it to get familiar with some of the discussion out there about IRBs.