The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education no longer will recognize drug and medical device manufacturers as ACPE-accredited providers of continuing pharmacy education, according to a notice e-mailed to me today by an alert reader (thank you, Debra!). While I can't find an official communication of this on their Web site, this sounds like a logical move. From the notice:
The ACPE Criteria for Quality require the provider to control the content speakers or authors of a CE program. The OIG Guidelines provide that the manufacturer, with regard to continuing education, should have no control over the content or speakers/authors of CE programs. It follows that a manufacturer cannot meet both the ACPE criteria and the OIG Guidelines.
I don't know if any pharma companies still are accredited CME providers, but I remember when there used to be a few. But, as the notice said, even if they qualify on paper, this just doesn't pass the smell test these days. Does anyone know if the ACCME has specifically excluded pharma and device companies from its accredited provider list? I'm guessing they haven't got many applications lately, anyway.
As Bob Dylan once sang, the times, they are a-changin'.
