I wrote previously that pharmaceutical industry influence should be removed from physician continuing medical education courses.
The American Psychiatric Association is taking that recommendation to heart, announcing that it will end industry-sponsored seminars at its annual meeting.
Good for them.
But, I’d be interested to see how many of these professional organizations can survive the funding cut. For instance, the APA stands to lose $1.5 million from the lost revenue previously reaped from drug companies sponsorships.
Large, national organizations can probably withstand the financial losses. However, I wonder if the smaller ones, especially in this economy, can make that same ethical stand.
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- Are conflicts of interest with the pharmaceutical industry causing a rift at Harvard Medical School?
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In my experience, most continuing education has some sort of vendor sponsorship. Granted, chiropractic practice has no need for drug manufacturers (”big money”) but there are still various supplement suppliers, etc. that will cover the expenses of a couple hours here or there.
It will be difficult to eliminate the financial support completely, though the most important thing is that the information presented is not shaped by the manufacturer. (So far, my CE seminars have been fairly effective at avoiding this.)
Just for s&g, while we are talking outcome research, is there any evidence that CME activity by providers improves patient outcomes? If not, then why is it required? If so, then what are the optimum CME requirements? I would hazard a guess that CME requirements are one of those "feel good" things that some State medical boards require because it sounds like a good idea. And is persists without question. Kudos to those who can make a profit from it and thereby calling into question a questionable requirement for licensure.
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