Some applaud the drop-off in industry funding as a needed correction to ensure any potential bias is eliminated. To that end, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs in 2011 adopted a policy urging the avoidance of industry funding of CME when possible. But just 42% of physicians in one study said they were willing to pay higher fees to eliminate that funding source (Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(9):840-846).
Guinee attributes much of the drug industry’s pullback in funding to companies’ uncertainty over transparency and reporting required by ACCME, the FDA, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
“The companies want to use their money as they want to,” Guinee says. “Instead of putting the money out there … as way to support medical education, they’re saying, ‘You know what? We’ll just hang on to it and spend it in other ways.’”
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Dr. Feldman, whose SHMConsults project has been supported by the pharmaceutical industry for seven years, says it’s unclear where future funding will come from in order to support CME. But ACCME president and chief executive officer Murray Kopelow, MD, says that while commercial support—the industry term for pharmaceutical funding—has steadily fallen, “other income” rose 221% from 2006 to 2011 for ACCME-accredited providers and ACCME–recognized, state-accredited providers. ACCME says that income can include activity registration fees, government or nonprofit foundation grants, and allocations from accredited providers’ parent organizations.
“The balance of revenue has shifted,” Dr. Kopelow says.
Education When You Need It
Also shifting is the nature of CME delivery. Since 2007, the number of live Internet CME activities has risen 33%, while the number of journal CME activities has risen 13%, according to ACCME figures. The number of courses in which participants physically attend is virtually static.
SHM has embraced the virtual concept and is looking to add as many online learning opportunities as feasible, says Catharine Smith, SHM’s senior director for education. That includes updates to SHMConsults and the Hospital Quality and Patient Safety Online Academy (www.hospitalmedicine.org/hqps), as well as future offerings based on core competencies. Virtual CME allows hospitalists to meet CME requirements when it is convenient for them and allows providers to set up both live events and enduring materials, Smith says.
“More online CME opportunities from SHM’s Learning Portal is about bringing quality content to hospitalists,” Smith said in a statement. “This reflects SHM’s understanding of the professional needs of hospitalists.”
She added that measuring outcomes can be easier online, as data recording in that manner is easier than during a big meeting. Then again, it’s also difficult to gauge just how well a learned lesson is then incorporated into practice.