Healthy Skepticism Library item: 19709

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: chapter

Jain S
Continuing Medical Education: How to Separate Continuing Medical Education from Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion
Understanding Physician-Pharmaceutical Industry Interactions A Concise Guide Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2010
http://www.ebooks.cambridge.org/chapter.jsf?bid=CBO9780511665677&cid=CBO9780511665677A013

Abstract:

Jane checked her watch. She was post call and on rounds; the grand rounds she had planned to attend had already started. The speaker was Dr. Bow, a professor from a prestigious medical school who was an expert on mood disorders. Jane had read his book focusing on pharmacological management of mood disorders and had been looking forward to hearing him speak.
Continuing medical education (CME) is critically important for physicians to keep abreast of the latest developments in patient care. In response to congressional investigation of questionable pharmaceutical marketing practices of the 1980’s, the American Medical Association and six other groups formed the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The ACCME’s 1992 “Standards for Commercial Support” sets forth norms that govern the professional relationships between commercial interests and continuing medical education providers. The need for such statements arises from the fact that year after year, the major pharmaceutical companies invest millions to support educational activities developed and certified by accredited CME providers.
The ACCME defines commercial bias as “favoring one product over another in a manner that is perceived to be or intended to advance the commercial interest of the product, device or service that physicians control, use, deploy or manage in the care of patients”. Concerns over the presence of commercial bias in CME have sparked much debate in the academic literature.