Similar to the process used in academic journals, any potentially conflicting financial relationships for faculty members must be both disclosed and resolved in a meaningful way.
[1] However, critics complain that drug and device manufacturers often use their financial sponsorship to bias CME activities toward marketing their own products.
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) developed standards to keep what they define as ineligible companies from being able to influence the content of CME activities.
[3] Most recently updated in 2022, the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Continuing Education have been adopted by the accrediting bodies of multiple health professions within the United States.
Specialist physicians who join the Royal College as fellows maintain their knowledge, skills, competence and performance through participating in the maintenance of certification program.
The CCMEP has since transitioned to the Certified Healthcare CPD Professional (CHCP) certification and is owned by the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions.
The 2022 update to the ACCME’s standards continues to severely restrict potential influence by ineligible companies for all accredited CME activities, whether or not there is commercial support.
[13] In 2009 the Institute of Medicine said that CME has become too reliant on industry funding that "tends to promote a narrow focus on the products and to neglect provisions of a broader education on alternative strategies," such as communication and prevention.
[15] For example, gabapentin (Neurontin), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for adjunctive therapy in epilepsy, but Warner-Lambert sponsored CME activities that encouraged its use for off-label indications.