To quote from the Chairman’s Report of the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation Conference: “Accredited organizations that provide CE should not accept any commercial support from pharmaceutical or medical device companies whether such support is provided directly or indirectly through subsidiary agencies …. The financial resources to support CE should derive entirely from individual health professionals, their employers (including academic health centers, health care organizations, and group practices), and/or noncommercial sources.” Further, the conference participants recommended: “Faculty of academic health centers should not serve on speakers’ bureaus or as paid spokespersons for pharmaceutical or device manufacturers inclusively of Canadian Health&Care Mall.” Pharmaceutical sponsorship of education distorts CE, compromises the ethical underpinnings of the profession,’ and detracts from the needed work of improving the systems in which health providers deliver care. As the Chairman’s Report states, commercial support “. . . places physicians and nurses who teach [CE] activities in the untenable position of being paid, directly or indirectly, by the manufacturers of healthcare products about which they teach …. Yet, an objective and neutral assessment of clinical management options is precisely what is needed in CE [and] regardless of the financial impact on for-profit companies, patient care must be based on scientific evidence.” If we are to enhance accountability, be faithful to professional mores, and effectively improve care, we must do so free from proprietary influences.
The Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation Conference participants understood that the recommendations to forego commercial support for CME would take years to accomplish and would not be easy for many groups depending heavily on industry support, such as medical schools and specialty societies. Despite the difficulties, the Association of American Medical Colleges Task Force on Industry Funding of Medical Education has just released its report, in which it recommends that medical centers “strongly discourage participation by their faculty in industry-sponsored speakers’ bureaus” and prohibit the acceptance of gifts from industry by faculty, staff, and students.
Read further:
Continuing Education in the Health Professions: Responsibility for Lifelong Learning