CME providers gear up to comply with PhRMA code

Eager to follow new guidelines separating drug promotions from continuing medical education, CME presenters' questions outpace answers at a meeting of drug industry and education leaders.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. Oct. 7, 2002.

Baltimore -- More money or less for continuing medical education? That's the question CME providers are asking these days as the pharmaceutical industry refocuses on keeping continuing medical education free from marketing campaigns.

CME providers hope the answer will be more money for education as drug companies cut back spending on physician gifts.

Funding for CME and how new guidelines by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America will impact physician education were hot topics at the annual meeting of the AMA's National Task Force on CME here in mid-September.

While PhRMA's voluntary code isn't that different from existing guidelines put forth by physician organizations, it does have CME providers re-examining their responsibilities.

"It's an exciting time" with the potential for producing high-quality CME, said Elizabeth Paczolt, MD, chair of the Medical Society of New Jersey's committee on medical education.

PhRMA represents about 80 drug and biotechnology companies. Members have agreed to end the purchase of expensive gifts and meals for doctors as a promotional tool and to keep continuing medical education programs free of advertising.

Existing guidelines by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education have attempted to make clear the nature of pharmaceutical contributions to CME. But ties between drug companies and CME events are sometimes violated.

According to Murray Kopelow, MD, ACCME executive director, the most common violation of its guidelines is proper disclosure. Thirty percent of ACCME-accredited providers fail to disclose all pertinent relationships between the event, speaker and pharmaceutical sponsors. [...]