Voluntary self-regulation of CME sponsorship debated

Ethics Forum. Dec. 6, 2004.

Scenario: Can sponsored CME meet the ethics test?

Can continuing education providers, adhering to proper guidelines, develop CME that meets ethical requirements for professional education and is free of commercial marketing if the CME is supported by a grant from the pharmaceutical industry?

Reply:

The short answer to this question is yes -- when providers and financial supporters of continuing medical education, in partnership, understand, accept, and adhere to the current voluntary, self-regulatory standards of the profession, CME will meet ethical requirements for professional education.

CME has been a centerpiece of professionalism in medicine for more than half a century. The concept of continuing to be educated throughout a career has communicated to the public that physicians are keeping up with medical advances.

In 1948, the newly formed American Academy of General Practice (now the American Academy of Family Physicians) incorporated into its bylaws a triennial membership requirement for 150 hours of CME. In 1968, the American Medical Association created the Physician's Recognition Award, promulgating the expectation for CME to all of allopathic medicine. The American Osteopathic Assn. followed suit in 1973.

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education was formed in 1980 to accredit CME providers who may then award AMA PRA category 1 credit. The systems created by these organizations continue to work in concert to accredit CME providers and activities and to grant CME credit in the United States.