An end to commercial support for CME?

Remember, last summer, when the ACCME posted a call for comments on several proposed policies, including this: “The ACCME believes that due consideration be given to the elimination of commercial support of continuing medical education activities.” Not surprisingly, the call netted quite a few comments by the September 12, 2008, deadline now posted on the ACCME Web site.

No surprise, either, that comments on the comments abound, see, for example:

The Policy and Medicine (blog) summary

Coalition for Healthcare Communication’s summary

Floyd Pennington’s blog

and

here

What did ACCME decide to do? Nothing, yet. The Executive Summary of the November 2008 Meetings of the ACCME Board of Directors reads, in part:

"The ACCME will continue discussions on these matters as it analyzes the feedback received…The issues presented in the calls-for-comment will be on the next several Board agenda…The ACCME does not plan on taking final action on these issues until the end of 2009."

Stay tuned!