Plan a CME Activity As an accredited CME sponsor, the Bridgeport Hospital Office of Medical Education is responsible for assuring physicians that CME activities meet standards of education that will help physicians develop skills and increase competence needed to improve the quality of medical care offered to patients in their communities. The Office of Medical Education works closely with activity directors to plan, implement and evaluate CME activities.
1. The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education develops standards for continuing medical education. The Essential Elements and Standards of Commercial support are the practices that a provider must implement in order to maintain accreditation. All programs accredited by Bridgeport Hospital must meet these standards. 2. Developing a CME Program All CME activities must: Be designed to change one or more of the following: Competence Performance Patient Outcomes Address professional practice gaps of physicians Use needs assessment data in the planning process Include content that: Matches learners’ scope of practice Developed in the context of desirable physician attributes Is delivered in appropriate educational formats, objectives and desired results of the activity Be in compliance with the ACCME’s policies for disclosure and commercial support Evaluate the effectiveness of the activity in meeting the stated objectives 3. Planning Process The Bridgeport Hospital office of Medical Education strives to follow a consistent planning process for all CME actives. Our staff will consult with you to ensure your education activity meets all ACCME requirements. We provide direct support in identifying educational needs, development and design of educational materials, wording of learning objectives, and the design of comprehensive evaluation instruments. The all documents used in the planning process have been developed by the Bridgeport Hospital Continuing Medical Education Committee in accordance with the ACCME Criteria requirements. 4. Commercial Support and Exhibitors Bridgeport hospital develops CME activities independent of commercial interests. Commercial interests cannot take the role of a joint or non-accredited sponsor (Standard 1.2) and in accordance with Standard 1.1 are not allowed to be involved in any of the following activities: Identification of practice gaps and needs that become the foundation of an activity Preparation or input into learning objectives Selection of presentation content Recommendation of persons to serve as faculty for an activity or any other persons that will be in a position to control the content of an activity Influence over selection of educational design of an activity Selection of vendor Selection of methods for the evaluation of an activity Request for “technical review” of content of an activity Exhibitors are permitted at Bridgeport Hospital accredited activities; however strict policies must be adhered to in order to maintain compliance with ACCME & CSMS regulations. Exhibitors must abide by the ACCME Standards of Commercial Support and the YNHHS Interactions with Vendors Policy found in Elucid. Exhibitors may not share the same space as the accredited activity. Any and all promotion or discussion of products or services must be done in the designated exhibit space. A company may not pay directly for any part of a course (food, audiovisual expense, room rental, etc). If a commercial supporter would like to give funds to support an event, they must do so in the form of an unrestricted educational grant and retain no control over the content of the program. Vendor Interaction Vendors may seek to cultivate relationships with healthcare providers by offering gifts, entertainment and other items and/or services of value, sometimes in an attempt to induce business. For these purposes, a gift is defined as a tangible or intangible item of value without compensation, included by not limited to discounts, free or below-market value good or services, perishable and consumable good, free promotional items and invitation/tickets to events or other benefits. Vendors may not provide or fund, and workforce may not accept, meals or other types of food or drink. Invitation to host industry sponsored social events may not be accepted by any group planning a Bridgeport Hospital accredited activity.