The accredited provider was notified by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), via a Letter of Inquiry, stating that a complaint had been filed against a specific CME activity. It was reported that the complainant perceived that the activity was noncompliant with the Standards for Commercial Support, specifically Standard 5: content without commercial bias.
The ACCME required the accredited provider to complete an objective content review of the activity using two content experts, who were not involved in the planning, implementation, or evaluation of the activity. The results of the independent reviews were to be summarized and submitted to the ACCME.
Key: Independent Review
The client chose CME Peer Review, because of their immediate access to independent, conflict-free clinical subject matter experts who were trained to evaluate the content relative to objectivity, balance, independence and commercial bias.
CME Peer Review requested the client provide the clinical content from the activity, as well as details on the intended audience. They proceeded to choose the most appropriate clinical experts from their trained, independent network of Experts to review the content. Each Expert was requested to complete the review using the Validate CE™ evaluation tool developed by CME Peer Review. This tool is designed to validate content relative to the identified educational gaps and objectives, and evaluate for objectivity, balance, commercial bias and scientific rigor.
Each clinical expert completed the 20-item evaluation which is integral to the Validate CE™ tool. The experts’ findings were summarized in a final report and provided to the client.
The client submitted the report to the ACCME, as requested. Upon review, the ACCME determined that the information submitted by the provider demonstrated the activity’s compliance with the ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support, specifically Standard 5 (freedom from commercial bias), as well as the Content Validation Policy. The ACCME issued a Notice of Compliance to the accredited provider thereby absolving them of any alleged violation of the Standards for Commercial Support.