After years of accusation without evidence, confusion about CME, and even some false claims about CME by The Macy Foundation, the Institute of Medicine and several other key stakeholders in the CME Enterprise, the AMA is really doing our field a really great service now by helping to set the record straight. Organizations still confuse CME with promotional activities that have nothing to do with continuing medical education.
In April the AMA National Task Force on CME provider industry collaboration came out with its first ever AMA Get the Facts campaign regarding CME. It aims to clarify misconceptions about CME and help draw the line between what CME is and what it’s not. In its announcement of the Get the Facts campaign, the AMA plainly stated the problem as follows: “The media, State and Federal law and policy makers, as well as regulators and other collective consensus opinions, frequently use and disseminate information that can lead to incorrect assumptions and false perceptions about CME.” This has led to increased regulatory scrutiny and critical public opinion regarding CME practices.
AMA Fact Sheets Toolkit
As a result of this the AMA came out with a series of four different fact sheets and a tool kit. The fact sheets cover the following issues: The first one addresses CME and how it provides valid and independent evidence for clinical decision. The second fact sheet addresses conflict of interest and how CME resolves conflict of interest through disclosure and appropriate resolution mechanisms. The third fact sheet addresses commercial support of CME and how it can be appropriately used to support CME activities, and the fourth one addresses appropriate discussion of off label drug use within the CME enterprise.
At Global Education Group, we agree with AMA Get The Facts campaign. The more you know the better you can develop high quality CME and distribute good information about what CME is and what it’s not. We encourage you to
check out the AMA website or you can always
contact us here, where we can provide you electronic copies of these four AMA Fact sheets, or any other information you might need about emerging issues in the CME enterprise.