John Mack, publisher of Pharma Marketing News, recently wrote an essay worrying about drug industry support of continuing medical education or CME. Excerpts:
"In 2006, commercial support of CME totaled about $1.19 billion ($1.44 billion if you include advertising and exhibits at CME events). That represents about 50% of the total support.Posted by schwitz at December 17, 2007 08:29 AM | TrackBackWhy won’t physicians pay for CME?
Although $1.2 billion is only a small fraction of the total promotional spend of the industry, a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon we’re talking about real money! Why should pharma contribute so much for CME in the first place? Doesn’t that naturally lead to biased content? Shouldn’t there be a ban on commercially-funded accredited CME? Why can’t physicians pay for their CME like many other professionals do?"
...or why won't hospitals pay for the education of their employees like many other employers do?
Of course the funding leads to biased content. It would be money very well spent to keep doctors updated with unbiased information instead of the biased info from the industry.
In Norway, all mandatory courses must be arranged without support from or participation of the drug industry.
Posted by: OJ at December 18, 2007 03:56 AM