Hotel Worker Union Protests Industry-Funded CME Soon After Blacklisted Events
Source: Unite Here!
After calling for boycotts of multiple medical meetings in several cities the Unite Here trade union launches a campaign to end commercial support of CME.
A number of articles have been written about Unite Here, a union representing hotel workers, calling for pharmaceutical companies to stop funding continuing medical education (see Pharmalot; Meeting-Conventions; BioPharmaDIVE). Most have no...
Source: Policy and Medicine - July 8, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
The ABIM Controversy: A Brief History of Board Certification and MOC
By ROBERT WACHTER, MD
What’s up with the ABIM?” “I just got a note about an alternative board. Should I join it?” “Aren’t you glad to be off the Board?”
These days, I get these questions from friends and colleagues regularly. When I first joined the board of directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in 2004, the organization was a well-respected pillar of American medicine. Today the organization finds itself in a fight for its life, being painted as everything from out of touch to money-hungry to, more recently, corrupt.
I just completed my decade-long service to the ABIM and, more recentl...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 2, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB ABIM Source Type: blogs
Professionalism in Medicine: I Know it When I See it
by Jennifer Chevinsky, BS
A medical student comes into the hospital wearing his favorite pair of old, ripped, dirty jeans.
A physician ‘pimps’ a medical student and publicly shames her when she doesn’t know the answer.
A nurse tells the patient that he really does not like working with the case manager on the medical service.
A resident presents her patient to the attending, including a complete physical exam that she did not perform.
In recent years, increased focus has been placed on the concept of professionalism in medicine by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Liaison Committee for Medical Educ...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - June 30, 2015 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Jennifer Chevinsky Tags: Featured Posts education medical education professionalism Source Type: blogs
The ABIM Controversy: A Brief History of Board Certification and MOC
By ROBERT WACHTER, MD
What’s up with the ABIM?” “I just got a note about an alternative board. Should I join it?” “Aren’t you glad to be off the Board?”
These days, I get these questions from friends and colleagues regularly. When I first joined the board of directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in 2004, the organization was a well-respected pillar of American medicine. Today the organization finds itself in a fight for its life, being painted as everything from out of touch to money-hungry to, more recently, corrupt.
I just completed my decade-long service to the ABIM and, more recentl...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 29, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB ABIM Source Type: blogs
New York Legislature Considers Mandatory Opioid CME
Discussion
There are voices on both sides of this issue, extensive resources have been exhausted for voluntary CME for Opioid risk programs under the ER-LA REMS program with limited physician participation. Both sides deserve a fair hearing, and states will continue to take up education/certification programs for opioids as long as there is a serious addiction problem. There is enough evidence that opioid risk education is beneficial and should not be discounted as part of the solution to addiction prevention.
Related StoriesOver 100 Physician Organizations Back H...
Source: Policy and Medicine - June 22, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Over 100 Physician Organizations Back H.R. 293 To Exempt from Sunshine Reporting Education Materials and Independent CME
Over 100 physician organizations have written to Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) expressing their “strong support” for H.R. 293, a bill that would clarify that certain applicable manufacturer transfers of value to support independent medical educational programs and materials are exempt from reporting under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
Download the letter to Rep. Burgess here
“Passage of this bill is urgently needed to remedy onerous and burdensome reporting obligations imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that have already chilled the dissemination of medi...
Source: Policy and Medicine - June 17, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
AMSA Scorecard Provides Useful Conflicts of Interest Tool For Industry Compliance Professionals
Periodically since 2007, the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) has released a “Scorecard,” ranking medical schools on how strict their policies are regarding interactions between their students and faculty and the pharmaceutical and device industries. The AMSA Scorecard is decidedly anti-industry, but by consolidating all of the conflict of interest documents for schools around the country, the list is actually a very useful tool for compliance professionals who must be attentive to a wide range of university policies.
This initial AMSA Scorecard graded medical schools simply on whether the...
Source: Policy and Medicine - June 11, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
It’s time for family physicians to challenge MOC
If it weren’t for social media, I would not know that internal medicine physicians are challenging the ABMS Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements and the ABIM. I became encouraged by their efforts and fascinated with details of the ABIM’s finances. If you’ve been a board-certified physician for at least three years, you should know about MOC. According to the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) website, MOC is a process that “encourages clinical excellence and benefits both physicians and their patients.” You must pay to complete this process, it takes many hours of your time, an...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 10, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Victoria Dooley, MD Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
Communicating the Value of Accredited Continuing Medical Education
Graham McMahon, who began his tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) last month, announced a new resource that CME providers and other stakeholders can use and distribute to communicate the value of accredited CME. “The resource describes how accredited CME promotes engagement with healthcare professionals by providing them with opportunities for relevant, practice-based, independent education and improvement in a system that meets their needs, and promotes quality in patient care,” he states. The document includes facts about CME’s effect...
Source: Policy and Medicine - June 8, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Continuing Medical Education: ACCME Offers New Guidance On The Role of Commercial Interest Employees In CME
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education recently provided clarity on the roles of industry employees in planning and delivering CME activities. ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support require that accredited continuing medical education be independent and free of control of commercial interests, and employees of industry have been prohibited from participating in accredited CME. ACCME now makes clear that employees of industry can be engaged in a “specific, limited role” in certain aspects of continuing education. Murray Kopelow, President and CEO of the ACCME, notes that the new guidance fu...
Source: Policy and Medicine - May 26, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
21st Century Cures Act Passes 51-0 in House Energy and Commerce Committee
This morning, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 51-0 to approve the 21st Century Cures Act. With the way the bipartisan bill sailed through, it appears the 21st Century Cures train has left the station.
The Act was authored by full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member DeGette, full committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX).
"This historic day marks a big bipartisan step forward on our path to cures,” said Upton. “We hav...
Source: Policy and Medicine - May 21, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Forks In the Road
By NORTIN HADLER, MD
On Saturday, Dr. Hadler delivered the commencement address at the University of Michigan Medical School. THCB is pleased to feature his remarks.
Thank you, Class of 2015, for the privilege of sharing this special occasion with you, your families and the community that has come together to celebrate with you. This is a rare day of pure self-indulgence. Our professional life allows little room for self-indulgence and seldom applauds when one of us makes the room. For those of you who are drawn to a career anchored at the bedside, the trade-off is the quiet, internalized quest to become the best phy...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 18, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB Source Type: blogs
The “21st Century Cures” Draft Bill: A Step Away From Transparency
By NIAM YARAGHI
There is optimism that Congress will soon pass the 21st Century Cures bill. The draft bill proposed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee aims to foster medical innovation by streamlining the FDA regulatory process and increasing NIH research funding by $10 billion. The draft bill has overwhelming bipartisan support and will benefit patients, medical researchers and pharmaceutical companies. However, it also includes a passage, which aims to amend the Sunshine Act and exempt pharmaceutical companies from reporting the payments they make to physicians for continued medical education (CME) programs. Th...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 18, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB CMS Continuing Medical Education FDA Innovation Niam Yaraghi Physicians Source Type: blogs
District Court Dismisses Chicago's Painkiller Marketing Lawsuit Against Four of Five Opioid Manufacturers; Purdue Pharma Still on the Hook
District Court Judge Jorge Alonso of the Northern District of Illinois recently dismissed the City of Chicago’s lawsuit against four out of five pharmaceutical manufacturers that the city accused of marketing opioids in violation of Illinois’ consumer fraud laws and for causing doctors and pharmacies to submit, and the city to pay, claims that were false. Judge Alonso found the majority of allegations lacked the necessary specificity needed for a successful case. For example, while the City alleged fraudulent marketing schemes in fairly good detail, the complaint failed to mention the names of Chicago doctors or consum...
Source: Policy and Medicine - May 13, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
I encourage patients to fire me. Here’s why.
Not all relationships work out.
My prescription: If a relationship isn’t working, end it. Now.
Recently an insurance plan told me they were sending a nurse to my office for a chart review that would take 3 hours. After 24 years of education, state licensure, board certification, and over 50 hours of continuing medical education each year, I’m not trusted to provide Pap smears or treat sinusitis without monitoring. OMG. I’m a solo doc. No staff. I can’t spend 3 hours being micromanaged by a nurse. I’m busy treating patients — and helping suicidal doctors who are struggling with the same B.S. My solution: Ter...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 12, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Pamela Wible, MD Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
