¨ Department of Continuing Medical Education ¨

Dear Prospective Planner/ Faculty Member,

We are looking forward to having the opportunity to include you as you assume your role in this educational activity.

City of Hope is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Continuing Medical Education. We appreciate your help in partnering with us to follow accreditation guidelines and help us create high-quality education that is independent of industry influence. In order to participate, as a person who will be able to control the educational content of this accredited continuing medical education activity, we ask that you disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible companies that you have had over the past 24 months. We define ineligible companies as those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. There is no minimum financial threshold; you must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount with ineligible companies. We ask you to disclose regardless of whether you view the financial relationships as relevant to the education. For more information on the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, please visit accme.org/standards.

Since healthcare professionals serve as the trusted authorities when advising patients; they must protect their learning environment from industry influence to ensure they remain true to their ethical commitments. Many healthcare professionals have financial relationships with ineligible companies. By identifying and mitigating relevant financial relationships, we work together to create a protected space to learn, teach and engage in scientific discourse free from influence from organizations that may have an incentive to insert commercial bias into education.  

After the CME Department receives your disclosure information, it will be reviewed to determine whether your financial relationships are relevant to the education. Please note: the identification of relevant financial relationships does not necessarily mean that you are unable to participate in the planning and implementation of this educational activity. Rather, the accreditation standards require that relevant financial relationships are mitigated before you assume your role in this activity.

To help meet these expectations, please use the Disclosure Form provided to share all financial relationships you have had with ineligible companies during the past 24 months. This information is necessary in order to move to the next steps in planning this educational activity.

If you have any questions about these expectations, please contact the City of Hope CME Department at cme@coh.org.