Tips on Complying with the Updated Standards for Commercial Support

Ensuring the Integrity of Education

At a mini-plenary session focusing on the updated Standards, attendees heard the perspectives of providers from a medical education company, another specialty society, and a medical school.

To help ensure the integrity of education and drive compliance with the updated Standards, Thomson Healthcare established a CME compliance department, of which he is now vice president, said panelist Mark H. Schaffer, EdM, Thomson Professional Postgraduate Services, Secaucus, N.J. “I no longer report to anyone with fiduciary responsibility,” he said. He reports directly to the general counsel, Thomson Scientific & Healthcare.

As for other changes the organization needs to make, “Once I stopped hyperventilating, I realized that we are already doing most of what the updated Standards require — we just need to document it better,” he said. For instance, Thomson has a complex faculty selection and content development process. No one individual ever controls the content. Content is developed by an educational council of physicians, then is vetted by an editorial staff, and then is reviewed again by the educational council. While Schaffer said he used to become frustrated watching the physicians argue about content on the slides, he now views such arguments as a comfort — part of the process of ensuring that activities are balanced and unbiased.