Maybe the sky isn't falling after all

I received the following in an e-mail from a reader, who agreed to let me post this (with all identifying information taken out):

Re the new Standards for Commercial Support: We're also cautiously optimistic as the dust begins to settle and facts replace hysteria in the provider community. Our company is a member of the North American Association of Medical Education and Communications Companies (NAAMECC), and last week we joined 47 other NAAMECC member companies in an hour-long conference call with ACCME Executive Director Murray Kopelow, MD. During the call, Dr. Kopelow provided frank responses to several dozen questions and scenarios that had been submitted by our membership in advance of the call.

Speaking for our own company, we came away with a very positive feeling about our existing policies and a fair idea of the types of adjustments we'd need to make under the new documents. Our main takeaway message was that commercially supported CME is still a viable and credible way to get education to the healthcare community, and that only the less conscientious or less knowledgeable providers would have any difficulty remaining in compliance. Having said that, it's clear that the new requirements on identifying and resolving conflicts of interest will call for a new level of diligence--but we're up to it.

How do you feel about the new Standards, now that ACCME has posted some additional clarifying materials on its Web site? And don't forget to vote on our survey.

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