"Regularly Scheduled Conferences"

Regularly scheduled conferences (RSCs) are defined as weekly or monthly CME activities that are primarily planned by and presented to the School of Medicine’s professional staff. The ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) has identified certain elements of structure, method, and organization that contribute to the development of effective continuing medical education. The Essential Areas and policies are the practices that a provider must implement for accreditation.

The procedures below provide you with the information necessary to begin the approval process. Please contact the Office of Continuing Medical Education (OCME) if you have further questions.

PROCEDURES FOR APPROVAL

1. An approved RSC must adhere to the Policies and Procedures and Operational Guidelines of the OCME in addition to these procedures.

2. Each RSC must have a dedicated coordinator assigned to ensure compliance with all policies and procedures associated with the RSC. This person will be responsible for file maintenance, record-keeping, and communications with the OCME.

3. Annually, the Course Activity Planning and Approval Form (CAF) (Essential 2.1-2.2) must be completed, signed and submitted to the OCME. All appropriate documentation must be included. The CAF will be reviewed by the Program Manager and approved by the Executive Director. Notification of provisional or full approval status will be made within 60 days. An incomplete CAF will be returned without approval.

4. A signed Faculty Disclosure Statement from each presenter at the RSC (Emory and non-Emory faculty) must be obtained (SCS1-2). This document must be kept in the RSC file. Information given on this form must be written on the Sign-In Sheet.

4.1. Any financial relationships with a commercial interest whose products or services may be affected by the content of the CME prior to participation in the activity must be disclosed Refusal to disclose all such relationships should result in disqualification from further participation in the activity.

4.2. Should a conflict of interest be identified based on the contents of the completed form, the conflict must be resolved. This can be done by changing the subject matter for the speaker or changing the speaker to one that does not have a conflict.

5. An activity that is financially supported by a pharmaceutical or device company, i.e. has a speaker honorarium and/or expenses paid by a company or an unrestricted grant, must have a completed and signed Letter of Agreement in place (SCS 3). This form must be signed by the RSC course director, the company representative, and the OCME program manager.

5.1. Under no circumstances are companies allowed to pay travel expenses or honorarium directly to the speakers when CME credit is being offered. Funds should be made payable to Emory University.

5.2. Expense reimbursements and honoraria must be paid in compliance with the Emory University Travel Policies and School of Medicine guidelines.

6. The Sign-In Sheet must be completed for each RSC session. It should contain the objectives (Essential 2.3) and disclosure information for each session. Each attendee should sign the Sheet. The RSC coordinator is responsible for keeping these on file. At the end of the RSC period, the sign-in sheets should be summarized.

7. An Excel spreadsheet with the Roster of Participants, complete with first and last name, email address and total number of credit hours earned by each participant, must be submitted to the OCME within 60 days of the end of the RSC period.

7.1. This Roster must be verified and signed by the RSC course director. It will be kept on permanent file in the OCME.

7.2. The certificates of attendance will be mailed to the RSC coordinator within 60 days of receipt. The certificates should be distributed at the next session of the RSC.

8. The RSC must be evaluated at least once per quarter on the standardized evaluation form (Essential 2.4). Random members of the audience may be selected to participate in the evaluation. These evaluations should be collected and submitted to the OCME along with the Roster of Participants on an annual basis. The evaluations will be summarized and the results returned to the RSC coordinator within 60 days. The results should be used to plan future RSC sessions.

9. The RSC coordinator will complete the RSC Summary Sheet for each RSC session and submit it on a quarterly basis to the OCME. This Sheet will be used to monitor each RSC’s level of compliance with the above procedures.

9.1. On a routine basis, the OCME will also visit the RSC coordinator and/or RSC. During these visits, the RSC coordinator will be asked to provide the RSC file. The OCME will verify that all documents listed above are in the file. Any problems with the RSC file and recommendations for improvement will be noted on the RSC Summary Sheet.

9.2. Consistent problems with documentation or failure to comply will result in the RSC being placed on provisional status. If further improvements are not made, the Executive Director of OCME will notify the RSC course director.

9.3. Continued compliance issues will result in the withdrawal of CME certification and CME credit will not be awarded to participants.