The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the national body that accredits medical education courses has decided that physicians and researchers who work inside the pharmaceutical industry will not be allowed to make medical education presentations at medical meetings.
That effectively means that America’s physicians will not be able to be instructed by many of the best and the brightest.
And this is where nomenclature becomes important. It’s not about “conflict of interest” – it’s about (as Secretary Sebelius correctly says) “interest.” And having an “interest” is not necessarily a bad thing – as long as you’re transparent about it. When it comes to “transparency,” we need to weigh “interest versus benefit." Just like with drugs and devices, we must consider the “safe use” of transparency.
But transparency is no longer good enough for the ACCME – now they want purity – whatever that means.
When is a conflict not a conflict? The answer, it seems – it when it’s convenient to the Brotherhood of the Conflict of Interest Priesthood, the COI Polloi.
Who’s pure and who isn’t? Here’s the answer – nobody is 100% pure. Not even Ivory Soap is 100% pure – and it floats!
In the February 7th edition of The Lancet, Richard Horton points out that the battle lines being drawn and between clinician, medical research and the pharmaceutical industry are artificial at best -- and dangerous at worst. Dangerous, because all three constituencies are working towards the same goal -- improved patient outcomes.
Horton’s main point is that we must dismantle the battlements and embrace of philosophy of "symbiosis not schism." It's what's in the best interest of the patient.
The new dictate by the ACCME is the COI polloi out of control. Consider the comments of healthcare icon and NIH director Francis Collins:
"It is a breathtaking sweep to squash something that is really important to us, the science going on in the private sector.”
Big Pharma hires the best. And now America’s physicians are being denied their counsel. Do we really want to build the foundation of 21st century CME on the second best and the almost brightest?
Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.
