Dear Colleagues,
A subcommittee of the Executive Faculty proposed changes to the current Clinical Conflict of Interest (CCOI) policy. These changes were approved by the FPP Clinical Practice Committee and are effective immediately. The changes pertain to Washington University employed physicians and health professionals participating in Entity(industry)-sponsored educational events. Updates to the Entity-Supported Educational Lectures section of the policy are detailed below.
Please note: If a physician or health professional agreed to participate in an Entity-sponsored speakers bureau, or non-CME accredited Entity-sponsored educational event prior to the passage of this new policy, the physician or health professional may fulfill that obligation provided the event occurs before November 1, 2019.
The new policy:
- Allows Physicians and Health Professionals to participate in Entity-sponsored CME accredited events.
- Discourages participation in Entity-sponsored, non-CME accredited educational events.
- Requires those Physicians or Health Professionals who choose to participate in non-CME Entity-sponsored educational activities to follow these guidelines:
- Prior to any presentation, the Physician or Health Professional must notify the Chair of the Department, or his/her designee, of the intention to participate, outlining the role, the anticipated payment and number of days away from campus.
- The lecturer, not the Entity-sponsor, must determine the content of the lecture and the Entity-sponsor cannot have editorial approval rights over the final content. The agreement or correspondence engaging the speaking services of Physicians and Health Professionals must include the following language:
“As speaker or panelist, (speaker) will have control over his/her own comments and content, except where compliance with FDA or other regulatory agency guidelines requires speakers to adhere to content that meets the agency’s guidelines or proscriptions.”
- The lecturer must provide a fair and balanced assessment of therapeutic options and promote objective scientific and educational discourse.
- Physicians and Health Professionals may not cancel or reschedule any patients scheduled for an ambulatory appointment or surgical procedure in order to lecture at an Entity-sponsored event without the permission of the Chair of the Department.
- Materials identifying speakers must include a written statement that the Physician or Health Professional is acting solely in his/her individual capacity on behalf of the Entity, not as an agent or representative of WUSM, and must disclose whether compensation is being paid.
- Use of the University’s name in non-University events sponsored by Entities should be limited to identifying the Physician or Health Professional by his/her title and affiliation.
- PowerPoint presentations, slides, handouts, brochures, flyers, mail and email announcements of Entity-sponsored lectures cannot be co-branded using University symbols, logos or images.
- Physicians and Health Professionals must use best efforts to cause Entity-sponsors to disclose in the course of the meeting or lecture any Financial Relationships with the Physician or Health Professional.
Participation in the Following Activities Is Not Permitted
- Entity-sponsored “speakers bureaus”
- Marketing and training programs designed for promotion or marketing of the Entity’s products
You may read the full policy here. If you have any questions, please contact Laura Howard.
Paul J. Scheel, Jr., MD
CEO, Washington University Physicians
Content updated 2019_09_04