- It is the responsibility of persons who make a presentation or speakers who lecture to make such presentations and lectures in an honest and open manner, exercising their best skill and judgment for the benefit of the participants, who, in turn, seek to improve the care given to their patients.
- It is the responsibility of speakers and presenters to exercise the utmost good faith in all information and presentations touching upon their responsibilities as teachers at CME activities. They should not use their positions, or knowledge gained there from, in such a way that a conflict might arise between the interest of quality CME and the interest of the individual.
- It is recognized that conflicts of interest can arise in many different situations and instances. Although it is recognized that a degree of duality of interest or even a frank conflict of interest may arise from time to time, such duality or conflict should not influence adversely the quality of the teaching by faculty or learning by the participants. Any such conflicts should be presented openly so that the listeners may form their own judgments about the presentation. There should be full disclosure of the facts of the presenters’ involvement within an area of potential conflict such as the manufacture of a pharmaceutical product or device which might be discussed. Appropriate means of disclosure include announcement during oral presentation and/or a written statement as part of abstract, complete manuscript, or in syllabus materials. IPEG requires speakers and faculty members to complete a form with disclosure information. This information will be published. Non-compliance with this policy will result in the dismissal of the faculty member.
- When an unlabeled use of a commercial product, or an investigational use not yet approved for any purpose is discussed during an educational activity, IPEG requires the speaker to disclose that the product is not labeled for the use under discussion or that the product is still investigational.
- Presentations must give a balanced view of therapeutic options. Faculty use of generic names will contribute to this impartiality. If trade names are used, those of several companies should be used rather than only that of a single supporting company.
- All the recommendations involving clinical medicine in a CME activity must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to, reported or used in CME in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis.
- It is the responsibility of planners and faculty to exercise the utmost good faith in their responsibilities regarding CME accredited activities. Planners and faculty should not use their positions or influence to actively promote their personal interests (financial or professional).
- Any financial relationships with ACCME-defined “ineligible companies” (formerly “commercial interests”) should be disclosed to IPEG. IPEG requires that all individuals involved in the creation of accredited content to complete a disclosure form listing all financial relationships between themselves and ACCME-defined ineligible companies for the previous 24 months. This information is then reviewed and published in the written materials that accompany CME accredited activities. Non-compliance with this policy by individuals will result in adverse actions for those individuals, up to and including dismissal of the individual from educational activities.
- Disclosures will be reviewed by the Conflict of Interest Committee and/or their designees in advance of the IPEG CME activity. The mitigation of relevant financial relationships with ACCME-defined ineligible companies for planners, presenters and faculty is determined by the IPEG Mitigation Process.
- According to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), an ineligible company is those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. They are called “ineligible” because they are not eligible to be accredited in the ACCME system. The ACCME states that, ”the owners and employees of ineligible companies are considered to have unresolvable financial relationships and must be excluded from participating as planners or faculty, and must not be allowed to influence or control any aspect of the planning, delivery, or evaluation of accredited continuing education, except in the limited circumstances outlined in Standard 3.2.” IPEG’s CME Committee declares that no employees of an ineligible company may present or have any control of content in IPEG CME accredited activities . This policy is applicable to, but not exclusive to, invited faculty, abstract presenters or authors, video presenters, and quickshot presenters. Faculty/speakers who serve on an ineligible company’s Board and who receive a salary will be considered an employee.
Visit Eligibility | ACCME for full definition and a list of all exceptions.