A group of key influential leaders in CME along with others are standing up to ask the AMA House of Delegates to reconsider Report 1 of The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs: Industry Support of Professional Education in Medicine
The National Task Force on CME Provider/Industry Collaboration.
An important group in the CME community, The Task Force, is an organization of nearly 50 senior professionals in CME who represent themselves, but have distinguished careers and vast experience with CME in medical schools, specialty and other societies, accrediting agencies, state medical groups, CME providers, grantor companies, and other industry organizations.
- The report (and related Q & A included in the HOD material) does not sufficiently distinguish between certified CME.
While the report recognizes possible bias and conflict issues arising from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, it ignores all other sources of bias and conflict.
- The report is not based on scientifically rigorous and relevant contemporary data.
- While the report would effectively eliminate over one billion dollars of commercial support for certified CME, it offers no plausible substitute for that support.
- The AMA need not seek to eliminate industry support while significant government, industry and other stakeholders – including those supported by existing AMA programs – are effectively improving the quality and effectiveness of CME and improving on the management of potential bias and conflicts.
- We agree with the suggestions in CEJA recommendation #4 to focus on patient care and encourage more effective models of education, more attention to educationally underserved physicians or areas, and a balance of funding less reliant on industry. However, we believe that elimination of industry support actually undermines these goals.
- In short, while ethical lapses have occurred and need to be fully addressed by individual doctors and the community, the certified CME enterprise has and is making significant progress on conflict of interest issues.
Testimony for the Reference Committee on Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws
Arnold Friede, a health care attorney with the law firm of McDermott, Will and Emery and former Deputy Chief Council at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged the American Medical Association (AMA) Reference Committee on Amendments to Constitution and By-laws not to adopt the recent Report of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) on "Industry Support of Professional Education in Medicine," and to refer the matter for further study.
Key points include:
· The procedures used by CEJA to develop the recommendations in the Report lacked due process.
· In concluding that conflicts cannot be managed and must be eliminated entirely, the CEJA Report is at odds with other thoughtful recent recommendations from organizations with comparable interests.
· The CEJA Report fails to identify and consider the serious collateral implications of its recommendations.
Friede Letter to AMA leadership
John Kamp the executive director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communications, was interviewed by Medscape on the issue of the Conflict of interest recommendations.
Let’s Get Real About Conflicts of Interest in Medicine