A reader today e-mailed me with a question I don't really have an answer to, so I thought I'd ask you all: She said she was hearing that some pharma companies are requiring site visits for CME providers whose programs they might provide commercial support for, and was wondering how widespread that requirement might be.
This did come up at a session at this year's Alliance for CME meeting. The panel of pharma folks seemed to agree that it was becoming fairly common to grill medical education and communication companies to make sure that they have the right firewalls in place--including physical separation between education and promotional arms. Some mentioned that a site visit could be a possibility, but it didn't sound like it was really widespread, and they only mentioned it in connection with MECCs, not other provider types.
That's really all I know about it--if you know anything more definitive, could you please e-mail me or drop a note in the comments section below?
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