This past summer the AMA CEJA committee proposed elimination of commercial support of CME. This was soundly rejected by the AMA Membership.
The AMA Committee on Ethical and Judicial Affairs and the AMA Council on Medical Education are now joining up to write companion reports on commercial support for medical education for the House of Delegates meeting in June of 2009.
This proposal, to begin the process, will be presented at the AMA House of Delegate Interim Meeting, November 8-11, in Orlando, Florida.
Joint Report of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs and the Council on Medical Education
The CEJA committee understands that the last version of the 2008 CEJA report received input that was significantly in favor of referral back to the committee. (Translation: almost everyone thought it was a bad idea.) CEJA was urged to more fully address potential different implications for different stakeholders in medical education and seek further input from stakeholders.
In view of these concerns, the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs and the Council on Medical Education (CME) discussed the issues raised by CEJA Report 1 (A-08) and concluded that those issues can best be addressed by the two Councils working together. Each committee has unique roles and responsibilities to take advantage of their differing areas of expertise and focus.
CEJA and CME appreciate the unique roles and responsibilities of each Council. To take maximum advantage of their differing areas of expertise and focus, the Councils will develop complementary, companion reports that provide ethical analysis and recommended guidelines (CEJA) and empirical analysis of existing strong practices and strategic recommendations for implementing ethical guidelines (CME). It is CEJA and CME’s intention to present these reports to the House at its 2009 Annual Meeting.
To help inform their work, CEJA and CME will jointly solicit focused commentary on key issues relating to commercial support for medical education. Invitations to comment will be extended to interested stakeholders, including consumer/patient advocates as well as professional organizations, through an open call for response posted on the AMA website. The comment period will open immediately following the 2008 Interim Meeting.
To ensure effective collaboration, the Councils’ respective work processes and products will be coordinated by a small joint work group composed of the Chair and Vice Chair of CEJA, the Chair and Chair-Elect of CME, and at least one additional member of each Council. The work group members will serve as representatives of and liaisons to their respective Councils.
It is encouraging that the AMA committees are opening up the process for input. The last CEJA report was poorly thought out and only served to incense large constituencies at the AMA. We applaud the AMA for opening up the process.
We anticipate seeing a more balanced statement from the AMA committees this go around.
CEJA – CME informational report