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ARBO releases draft guidelines on commercially supported CE
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ATLANTA — Representatives from the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) announced their plan for new standards for commercial support of continuing education that is approved by the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE). ARBO officials shared the details of this plan at an ARBO-sponsored press conference here at the SECO International meeting.
ARBO President Christina Sorenson, OD, said in an ARBO press release, "Our commitment is to continue to provide salient and unbiased CE that is not influenced by a specific company, product or brand. Our responsibility is to provide and implement the standards necessary for establishing and protecting the integrity of optometric CE."
ARBO Vice President William B. Rafferty, OD, provided a summary of some of the guidelines for COPE-approved CE at the press conference:
—Company support must be in the form of an unrestricted educational grant.
—The presentation must include a mandatory commercial disclosure slide.
—The CE administrator (not the industry supporter) pays the lecturer.
—The administrator has the responsibility to ensure certain standards are upheld.
—Personal conflicts of interested must be resolved prior to presentation of the CE.
—The presenter must disclose experimental or off-label use. "You must be independent of the company to do this," Dr. Rafferty added.
Dr. Sorenson said at the press conference that the release of these draft guidelines begins a "give and take" period, during which ARBO will solicit input from industry, CE administrators and lecturers. "We want the nuts and bolts of this program to work for everyone involved," she said.
In June the finalized standards will be released at Optometry's Meeting in Seattle. Between July and December, ARBO will conduct on-site reviews; the new standards will be put in force in January 2009; and ARBO will make concessions for a grace period through June 2009.
"COPE wants to ensure good quality CE, not impose penalties," Dr. Sorenson said. "In the case of a violation, we want to educate the violators.¨
When a violation is found, ARBO will send a letter. With a second violation, the lecturer or administrator will be placed on probation.
ARBO Secretary-Treasurer Jerry A. Richt, OD, noted the recent history of other accrediting agencies coming under scrutiny as the impetus for updating these guidelines.
In 2003, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Code and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics were released in response to increased industry support of continuing education. In 2004, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) adopted Standards for Commercial Support.
Dr. Richt said that ACCME received a request in December 2006 from the Senate Finance Committee for information. "They were primarily looking for two things," Dr. Richt said. "They were looking for adequate guidelines to ensure that industry-supported CE is free from bias and whether or not some type of monitoring for compliance was in place."
Dr. Richt said that compliance has been voluntary and inconsistent. The ARBO guidelines "are the right thing to do," he said. "This profession has advanced via the integrity of our CE system."
The Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry can be reached at 1750 S. Brentwood Blvd., Suite 503, St. Louis, MO 63144-1341; (314) 785-6000; fax: (314) 785-6002; e-mail: arbo@arbo.org; Web site: www.arbo.org.