Policies and Standards

Faculty Eligibility

Utilize the following flowcharts to determine eligibility and mitigation necessary for potential faculty.

Mitigation and Resolution

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP MITIGATION AND DISCLOSURE

In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence, it is the policy of PIM to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor in all of its activities.

PIM requires everyone who is in a position to control the content of a CME activity to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any ineligible entity. This information is utilized to 1) determine if a conflict exists, 2) mitigate the potential conflict, and 3) advise learners of this information. Any individual who refuses to (or chooses not to) disclose financial relationships will be disqualified from participating as an instructor, planner or manager and cannot have control of or responsibility for the development, management, presentation or evaluation of accredited education certified by PIM.

Disclosures received by PIM from individuals in a position to control CME content are made transparent to learners prior to participating in the activity. PIM discloses the following information to learners: 1) the name of the individual, 2) the name of the ineligible entity(-ies), and 3) the nature of the relationship the individual has with the ineligible entity. PIM also discloses to learners the name(s) of ineligible entities providing support for accredited education.

Once a relevant financial relationship is identified, a mitigation process is initiated to ensure that the content or format of the accredited education and related materials will promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not promote a specific proprietary business interest of an ineligible entity. To this end, it is the policy of PIM to conduct an unbiased review of all planned content for accredited education to ensure adherence to the ACCME standards and to mitigate any actual or perceived relevant financial relationships of interest that exist. PIM employs three metrics to validate CME content: 1) fair balance, 2) the scientific objectivity of studies mentioned in the materials or used as the basis for content, and 3) appropriateness of patient care recommendations made to learners.

All faculty receive instructions in individual confirmation letters that communicate the PIM standards of practice in CME. Specifically, information concerning expectations related to content validation and safeguards against commercial bias are detailed. Individual presentations or initial drafts of faculty with financial relationships are reviewed by a scientifically-qualified PIM clinical staff member. If there are concerns identified by the content validation process, feedback may be requested from the course director or program chair, and if necessary, a separate expert peer review is conducted under the direction of PIM.

PIM requests that learners evaluate activities for the potential presence of bias. Additionally, PIM utilizes proctors to evaluate a percentage of live activities related to content validity and management of commercial support funds. The proctors complete a clinical content evaluation tool provided by PIM to evaluate the activity for balance and bias toward the commercial supporter(s) of the activity or manufacturers of products discussed in the activity.  The evaluation tool is designed to especially scrutinize patient treatment recommendations from the viewpoint that they are evidence-based, represent a standard of practice within the profession in the United States and contribute to overall improvements in patient care. Finally, the evaluation tool is designed to assess the studies and case presentations cited in the activity to ensure they are scientifically objective and conform to research principles generally accepted by the scientific community.

METHODS USED TO ENSURE A BALANCED VIEW OF THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS

The purpose of CME at PIM is to improve the quality of health care that physicians provide, thus improving patient outcomes. Therefore, PIM has employed several mechanisms to ensure that all accredited education we provide is consistent with our Mission in this regard and do not promote the proprietary interests of a commercial entity and contain current, accurate, evidence-based, balanced information that will supply the learner with information that, if incorporated into his/her practice, will help to improve patient outcomes. PIM activities always offer a balanced view of therapeutic options. These various therapeutic options are adequately discussed in the activity to ensure accuracy, completeness and balance. Many of the methods discussed above, as mechanisms to promote improvements or quality in healthcare, are also methods PIM employs to ensure accredited education gives a balanced view of therapeutic options, including:

• Development of a quality needs assessment from a learner gap analysis that clearly identifies targeted learner current practices as compared against best practices to determine educational focus (thus refocusing education toward improvements in specific learner gaps rather than the treatment options)

• Subsequent development of measurable objectives based on the needs assessment and gap analysis

• Careful selection of faculty based on their expertise to address and close the learner gaps identified above, with education to ensure that they are aware of their teaching responsibilities relative to development of their presentation based on the needs assessment and objectives within the context of the Standards for Integrity and Independence

• Thorough internal review of the educational content by a member of the PIM clinical team to ensure the educational content of the activity is acceptable by the medical and pharmacy profession as being within the basic medical sciences, discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of healthcare to the public.

Therefore, in summary, all material presented in accredited education provided by PIM:

• Promotes improvements or quality in healthcare

• Is valid, reliable, and accurate

• Offers balanced presentations that are free of commercial bias for or against a product/service

• Is vetted through a process that resolves any conflicts of interests of planners, reviewers, teachers or authors

• Is driven and based on learning needs, not commercial interests

• Addresses the stated objectives or purpose

• Uses generic rather than brand names of all medications, devices or therapies (except in rare instances, such as with medical devices that cannot be distinguished by generic names; then all brand names in the category are used, PIM is final arbitrator on use of brand names)

• Is evaluated for effectiveness in meeting the identified educational need

Resources

ACCME Resource

Disclosure Form

Faculty Eligibility