For Professionals – Continuing Medical Education FAQs

Q: What is continuing education and why is it important?
A: Continuing education describes a type of professional development in which a person - typically someone who already has completed an academic degree - pursues additional learning from a higher education institution. Continuing education is vital in maintaining professional skills and competency as well as acquiring new knowledge and skills as they emerge.

Q: What is Continuing Education?

A: Continuing education (CE) consists of educational activities which serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that healthcare providers use to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession. The content of CE is the body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as basic medical sciences, discipline of clinical medicine, and provision of health care to the public.

Examples of topics that are covered in CE content include:

• Management, for healthcare providers responsible for managing a healthcare facility
• Educational methodology, for healthcare providers teaching in a medical school
• Practice management, for healthcare providers interested in providing better service to patients
• Coding and reimbursement in a medical practice

Q: What types of content and activity formats can be accredited for CE?
A:  Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, Center for Continuing Professional Development (CCPD) can accredit many types of content. We offer comprehensive continuing education activities for the healthcare team across the full spectrum of medicine and health, drawing on the interprofessional expertise of its institutions and partners. Content is evidence-based, references best practices supported by scientific literature and guidelines, and is free of commercial bias. Traditional activities vary and include conferences, workshops, simulations, seminars, live webcasts, regularly scheduled series, performance improvement and internet enduring materials. CCPD works to create and engage learners with state-of-the-art content and continuously seeks opportunities to expand educational innovation. Learning formats are highly interactive, sequenced for learning, foster team- and patient-experiences, and promote retention and improvements in practice for the highest possible educational outcomes.

Q: What types of professional accreditations does CCPD have?
A: In support of improving patient care, Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Q: What is Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education?

Founded in 2009, Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education offers organizations the opportunity to be simultaneously accredited to provide continuing education for athletic trainers, dentists, dietitians, nurses, optometrists, PAs (physician associates/physician assistants), pharmacists, physicians, psychologists, and social workers through a single, unified application process, fee structure, and set of accreditation standards. For more information regarding the joint accreditation, please visit https://www.jointaccreditation.org/

Q: What is the ACCME and why is it important?
A: The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) was founded in 1981 to oversee the accreditation of institutions that provide continuing medical education (CME). A nonprofit corporation based in Chicago, IL, the ACCME is responsible for setting standards to ensure that CME is effective, relevant, responsive to the changing healthcare environment, independent, free from commercial bias, and designed to promote healthcare improvement. Their goal is to leverage the power of education to improve clinician performance and patient care. For more information regarding the ACCME, please visit https://accme.org/

Q: What is the AMA and why is it important?
A: Founded in 1847, the American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest and only national association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders. Throughout its history, the AMA mission has been to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. For more information regarding the AMA, please visit https://www.ama-assn.org/

Q: What types of continuing education credit are offered by CCPD?  
A: CCPD is accredited to offer continuing education credit for the following professions: athletic training, dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, PAs, psychology, and social work.

• Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
• Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
• American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)
• American Dental Association’s Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP)
• American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• American Psychological Association (New York State - APA NYSED)
• Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry’s Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (ARBO/COPE)
• Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
• Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC)
• Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)

What is the Difference Between Category 1 and Category 2 Credit?

Category 1 CME activities are:

• Formally planned activities that include documentation of acceptable needs assessment, learning objectives, education design, an evaluation method and disclosure.
• Planned and implemented in full compliance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence.
• Certified for credit by an ACCME-accredited CME provider.

Category 2 CME activities are all educational activities not designated for Category 1, which have improved the care that a physician provides for his or her patients. Some examples are:

• Teaching residents, medical students, or other health professionals
• Unstructured online searching and learning (i.e., not Internet PoC)
• Reading authoritative medical literature
• Consultation with peers and medical experts
• Small group discussions
• Self-assessment activities
• Medical writing
• Preceptorship participation
• Research
• Peer review and quality assurance participation

Q: What activity types are currently available?
A: CCPD offers live, in person & virtual live conferences, online courses, hybrid courses, regularly scheduled series (such as grand rounds), podcasts, journal-based, learning from teaching, simulation and training and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) courses.

Q: How does CCPD use my personal information (email, birth-date, phone number, etc.)?
A: Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center respects your privacy. All personal information that is provided to Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, is protected and will not be sold to a third party for commercial purposes. All personally identifiable information contained in the CCPD registration databases is treated as confidential and will be used only for the purposes stated in this policy, except where required by law. CCPD maintains user databases that contain mailing and user profile information as well as a record of the CE activities viewed and the post-test and evaluation results for CE credit. This information can be provided to activity collaborators for the purposes of CE recordkeeping and will not be shared with any grantors (ineligible companies). By participating in an activity, you agree that CCPD, has full permission to provide this information to the activity collaborators.

Q: How do I receive information about CCPD CE activities?
A: For more information regarding CCPD CE activities, please visit https://www.mecme.org/, email: cme@montefiore.org, or call 718-920-6674.

Q: I work for a pharmaceutical company; may I register for a course?
A: Yes, Industry professionals are welcome to attend CCPD CE conferences. Representatives from ineligible companies must adhere to the following Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, Center for Continuing Professional Development policies on industry attendance:

• Ineligible company representatives must register as activity participant to attend the activity.
• A maximum of 5 representatives from ineligible companies can attend an activity.
• No promotional materials of any kind may be present in the meeting room or in the pathway to the meeting room.
• Ineligible company representatives must not engage in sales activities while in the meeting room.
• Ineligible company representatives may only distribute brochures or literature that have been approved by CCPD, however not in the meeting room space.
• Ineligible company representatives may not introduce the speaker or moderate the question-and-answer period.
• Ineligible company representatives may not ask or answer any questions during the activity, or during the question-and-answer period, to avoid any bias.
• All expenses must be paid by CCPD, or the organization working with CCPD on the CE activity (non-industry).
• NO payment can be made by an ineligible company representative for any CE activity expenses.
• Ineligible company representatives may not wear company logos or badges in the meeting room.
• Ineligible company representatives must wear the same name badges as the other registrants during the activity.

Q: How can my company support a CE activity?
A: Support is accepted in the form of a financial educational grant, sponsorship and/or in-kind donation. This support must be made directly to CCPD.

Q: How can my company exhibit at an CCPD activity?
A: Contact the conference planner in charge of the activity or email cme@montefiore.org to be added to the potential exhibitor listing.

Q: Can my company promote your CE activity?
A: Only if there is an exhibit associated with the overall activity. If no exhibit, this is not permitted because it could be misunderstood to imply a relationship that does not exist.

Q: Why can't the ineligible company include a link to CCPD courses on their website?
A: The goal is to ensure CCPD CE activities are free from commercial influence. CCPD CE activities may not be marketed by ineligible companies (e.g., on their websites, by their representatives) lest this suggest a relationship that does not exist.

Q: Can a company donate supplies for my course?
A: Yes, “in-kind” support refers to the loan and/or donation of equipment or supplies from a commercial entity. In-kind support may be donated in support of a specific activity upon prior approval by a designated CCPD employee via an executed Letter of Agreement for in-kind support. No marketing activity may be associated with the use of in-kind support. When multiple products are available, conscientious effort must be made to attract support from multiple vendors of similar and substitutive equipment and supplies. CCPD has developed a standard LOA for this purpose.

Q: Can commercial supporters distribute promotional materials for CE activities, like "save the date cards and brochures”?
A: Yes, distributing promotional material such as save the date cards, and not distributing the actual educational activity, would not be restricted by the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.

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Q: How do I find CME, CE, and/or CPD activities?

A: Visit the following site to find a listing of activities: https://www.eeds.com/portal_index.aspx?Portal_SIN=230101

Q: How do I get a copy of my certificate/transcript?
A: Please follow the instructions outlined below:

• Log into the eeds portal by going to: https://www.eeds.com/cloud-based-tracker-for-cme/healthcare-professionals
• Click the Healthcare Professionals tab
• Click Log In to access the portal
• Click Attendance Transcript
• Select your desired certificate/transcript type

Q: What is the difference between a transcript and a certificate?
A: A certificate can be generated for a specific course once completed. A transcript is a comprehensive credit report of all courses completed with CCPD for a particular date range.

Q: How do I pay for an activity?
A: Our preferred method is online by credit card. We accept American Express, MasterCard or Visa. Once you have completed the registration process, you will receive an email confirmation of your course enrollment and payment.

If you are unable to register online with a credit card, you may pay by check. You may mail your check to Montefiore Medical Center, Center for Continuing Professional Development, 3301 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467. Please use the registration form for the activity that you are registering. If you do not receive an email confirmation within two weeks, please contact our office at (718)920-6674 or cme@montefiore.org.

Q: How do I obtain a Visa letter?
A: Certain countries require participants to obtain a visa when attending a conference and may also request a letter from the CCPD to verify a participant’s attendance at the event. Some embassies may need to verify that registration fees have been paid in full and may require applicants to appear in person for an interview, causing delays in the application process. Applicants affected by these procedures are informed that additional screening is needed. Therefore, attendees should apply for a visa no later than three months prior to the conference.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, Center for Continuing Professional Development guidelines for providing visa invitation letters are as follows:

Visa letters should only be issued to:

• Speakers/presenters
• Committee members
• Attendees who have paid their registration fee in full and are not from one of the countries embargoed by the US Treasury
• Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (verify that the payment has been received before providing a letter)

If you would like to request a Visa invitation letter please send an email to cme@montefiore.org containing the below facts:

• Conference title, dates, and location
• Confirm whether or not the required registration fees have been paid in full
• The requester’s role at the conference

Additional information can be found on the following websites:

• S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Services
• Visa Service

Q: Where do I get directions to an in-person conference?
A: Please visit CCPD webpage and click on the conference that you are interested in attending for directions to that conference.

Q:  Where can I find visitor information related to CCPD?
A: Click on the links below for information for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Montefiore Medical Center

Q: Can I get a discount?
A: Pricing for our CE activities is listed on each conference specific web page. If you believe you are eligible for an additional discount, please reach out to the Meeting Planner responsible for the CE activity.

Q: What is CCPD’s refund policy?
A: Cancellations received in writing no less than 21 days before the course will incur an administrative fee. No refunds will be made on cancellations received after that date.  Please send cancellation requests to cme@montefiore.org.  Special circumstances may apply due to unforeseen circumstances. CCPD reserves the right to cancel or postpone a program, if necessary. In the event of cancellation, course fees will be fully refunded. We are not responsible for other costs incurred such as non-refundable airline tickets or hotel penalties.

Q: How does CCPD accommodate learners who have a disability?
A: CCPD is committed to ensuring that its programs, services, goods and facilities are accessible to individuals with disabilities as specified under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008.  If you have needs that require special accommodations, including dietary concerns, please contact cme@montefiore.org.

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Q: What are CCPD’s policies related to CE/CPD?
A: CCPD’s policies related to CE/CPD align with those of the ACCME and Joint Accreditation. Jointly accredited education is designed to be independent, free from commercial bias, and effective in improving the quality and safety of care delivered by the healthcare team.

Q: What are the costs of CCPD CE services? Is there a list of what each service costs?
A: CCPD charges fees based on the complexity of the activity. In addition, we have a list of logistical, educational design, and other services we can provide. For additional information, please contact our office at (718)920-6674 or cme@montefiore.org.

Q: How do I contact CCPD to start planning a CE activity?
A: Those interested in planning an accredited CE activity should contact CCPDby  email, cme@montefiore.org, or call 718-920-6674.

Q: What forms does the planning team need to complete?
A: Contact the CCPD office, email: cme@montefiore.org, or call 718-920-6674 to speak with a staff member, however all forms can be found on our website:

• Live and Enduring Material
• Regularly Scheduled Series (RSS)

Q: Can another accredited entity sponsor a CE activity at Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center?
A: No. All CE activities held at Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center must be accredited by CCPD.

Q: Can activities accredited by CCPD be jointly provided with a non-accredited organization?
A: CCPD supports collaborative development of CE activities with other organizations. CCPD will work closely with non-ACCME accredited entities to develop and offer jointly provided activities (as defined by the ACCME), on a case-by-case basis. Activities developed with organizations that are accredited providers will also be considered. Proposals shall be discussed with the Associate Dean or a CCPD staff member. Either institution may be the accrediting provider and control the process for commercial support if the CE activity is found to be free of commercial bias as determined by a non-conflicted peer reviewer. Potential collaborations must be based on a willingness to fully comply with Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center policies.

Q: Where can I hold my CE activity?
A: CE activities can be held on one of Einstein-Montefiore campuses, as well as off-campus.

Q: Are there special rules about destination events?
A: The course director(s) and the appropriate financial authorities will meet with CCPD leadership prior to starting the activity planning, to discuss the needs of the off-campus course.  This applies to courses in distant locations, and also to any course held off Einstein-Montefiore campuses.

Q: What are the rules related to marketing a CE activity?
A: PROGRAM MATERIALS: The AMA Credit Designation Statement must be used in any program materials, in both print and electronic formats (e.g., a course syllabus, enduring material publication, landing page of an internet activity), that reference CME credit.

ACTIVITY ANNOUNCEMENTS: Activity announcements include all materials, in both print and electronic formats, that are designed to build awareness of the activity’s educational content among the target physician audience. The complete AMA Credit Designation Statement must always be used on any document or publication that references the number of AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ designated for the activity. A “Save-the-Date” announcement (such as a postal mailer with limited space) may indicate that the activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ without stating an exact number of credits if the accredited CME provider has already certified the activity. This announcement may read, “This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™” or similar language. Accredited CE providers may never indicate that “AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ has been applied for” or any similar wording. Accreditation statements for other accreditation types (i.e., Counselors, Radiologic Technologists, etc.) or any included by Joint Accreditation must be accurately included in program materials.

Q: Can meals and social events occur at CE activities? Can they be commercially funded?
A: Modest meals and social events may accompany a CE activity but may only be paid for directly by CCPD.

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Q: Who may serve as a Course Director?
A: The primary Course Director collaborates with Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, Center for Continuing Professional Development (CCPD) to plan, implement, and evaluate a CME/CE activity. The Course Director must familiarize him/herself with CCPD policies including: Commercial Support, Honoraria, and Identification and Mitigation of Conflicts of Interest. The CCPD staff and Associate Dean are available to answer any questions regarding these policies.

Other healthcare professionals such as a dentist, dietitian, nurse, optometrist, pharmacist, physician assistant, psychologist or social worker can serve in the capacity of a course director when physician credits are not being offered.

Q: What are the responsibilities of a Course Director?
A: The Course Director is responsible for ensuring that the activity supports, the following Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education (JA), American Medical Association (AMA), and CCPD Policies:

Planning a CME/CE Activity

• Selection of a planning committee to coordinate the activity planning process, if needed. Planning committees are usually comprised of 3-5 individuals, but in most cases, there should be more than one planner. The Course Director(s) and Planners’ conflicts of interest must be disclosed and resolved prior to planning the activity. If the Course Director is conflicted, then a non-conflicted planner must be responsible for identification of conflict of interest and taking the action necessary to mitigate conflict(s). Employees of an ineligible company cannot participate in the planning of CME/CE activities. If the Course Director or planner is an employee of an ineligible company, this is considered by the ACCME as an irresolvable conflict of interest and the employee cannot participate in either of these roles.
• Ensure that the activity is designed to address identified learning needs of healthcare professionals derived from professional practice gaps in knowledge, competence and/or performance in practice.
• Identification of Gaps that are substantiated by data from the target audience, expert opinion, scientific literature, national guidelines, and/or quality improvement data.
• Completion of activity IPCE Planning Document (CME/CE Application), and support documentation.
• Ensure that the activity is fiscally sound and honoraria payments comply with CCPD policies.

Q: When do Course Directors, planners, and faculty involved in CE activities need to disclose financial relationships?
A: Individuals need to disclose relationships with an ineligible company when the following are true:

• the financial relationship occurred within the past 24 months
• the individual has the opportunity to affect the content of CE about the products or services of that ineligible company

Q: What is the Course Director’s responsibility if a member of the faculty is perceived to present commercial-biased material?
A: If a course director or planner is aware of commercially biased educational material, he or she must inform the CCPD staff member assigned to the activity.

Q: How should a Course Director handle a last minute change to a faculty member?
A: Collection of Information for All Financial Relationships must be obtained as soon as possible prior to the start of the session. If the faculty member has disclosed a conflict, it must be mitigated prior to the session by a non-conflicted course director, planner, reviewer. For a didactic session, the mitigation can be completed with a review of the presentation slides and completion of the Conflict of Interest Mitigation Form by the reviewer. The new faculty information must be updated on all documentation and in the eeds database prior to the session so that the changes are reflected in the disclosure to learners and flyers.

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Q: What financial relationships need to be disclosed?
A: Financial relationships are those relationships in which an individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria for promotional speakers’ bureau, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected. Financial relationships also include payments of in-kind support. The ACCME defines an ineligible company as any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

Q: When is a Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosed or not disclosed to the learners?
A: All relevant COIs are always disclosed to the learners. If a COI is determined to be “not relevant” to the content of the CE activity or presentation, it does not need to be disclosed to the learner. That determination (or mitigation) must be documented in the record.

Q: Is it considered a Conflict of Interest (COI) if a planner or faculty has a financial relationship with an ineligible company that has products that are not FDA-approved?
A: Yes, all products and services of an ineligible company that are used by or on patients or may be used by or on patients in the future are considered financial relationships.

Q: What is meant by “mitigating a conflict of interest”?
A: Mitigating conflicts of interest means individuals taking explicit actions prior to the educational activity to create CE content that is valid and free of commercial bias - even in the presence of relevant financial relationships.

Q: How long are disclosure/attestation forms valid?
A: Signed disclosure/attestation forms are valid for twelve months from the date of the signature (and not from the date of the faculty’s presentation). For example, if the form is signed and dated as 6/5/2020, the expiration date will be 6/5/2021. However, if at any time, the faculty member has changes or updates to their disclosure forms, an updated disclosure/attestation form must be completed within one month of the new change/update.

Q: Are electronic signatures allowed on Disclosure/Attestation forms?
A: Original signatures on disclosure forms are preferred. Electronic signatures are only accepted if it is sent by the signatory.

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Q: How is commercial support defined?
A: Financial, or in-kind, support provided by an ineligible company that is used to pay all or part of the expenses associated with a CE activity.

Q: What constitutes a commercial interest in relation to CE?
A: A commercial interest, now referred to as an ineligible company,  is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be ineligible companies. An ineligible company is not eligible to be accredited in the ACCME System.

Q: What is the policy on commercial support for CCPD?
A: In accordance with the Standards for Integrity and Independence (SII), Einstein-Montefiore develops its accredited CE activities independent of any ineligible company. Review by CCPD must find the activity to be free of bias; Industry support is sought in collaboration with and under the auspices of CCPD. This includes activities held either on the Einstein-Montefiore campus’ or at offsite venues and all CE activities that propose to use the Einstein-Montefiore campus’ name.

• Einstein-Montefiore requires that a written letter of agreement (LOA) be signed by the appropriate CE Designee and the ineligible company, prior to the activity taking place.
• Einstein-Montefiore controls all aspects of the management of funds from an ineligible company and documents all receipt and expenditure of such funds in an activity income/expense document.
• Einstein-Montefiore ensures that ineligible companies of an accredited CE activity are not providing additional funds to those in a position to control content relative to the specific accredited CE activity.
• Social events that take place at an accredited CE activity, regardless of whether those events are provided with funds from an ineligible company or not, may not compete with or overtake the accredited CE activity.
• Live continuing education activities: marketing, exhibits, and nonaccredited education developed by or with influence from an ineligible company or with planners or faculty with unmitigated financial relationships must not occur in the educational space within 30 minutes before or after an accredited CE activity.
• Einstein-Montefiore acknowledges the receipt of educational and in-kind support, including the nature of in-kind support, from ineligible companies.

Q: What activity types may receive financial commercial support?
A: The following activity types may receive financial commercial support: conferences and workshops, live online activities, enduring activities (i.e., online modules, journal-based activities), performance improvement activities, Maintenance of Certification (MOC) activities, and Regularly Scheduled Series (RSS).

Q: What is the process for seeking financial commercial support?
A: After the Activity Planning Document, tentative agenda, and cost estimate are approved, the designated CCPD staff member will review and begin the grant procurement process. The Course Director must provide the CCPD staff member with the potential funder list. The CCPD staff member will review and recommend other companies, if applicable, create a grant package, and submit grants. CCPD will manage all Letters of Agreement (LOA) and incoming funds. Once the activity is over, the CCPD staff member will submit outcome information and budget reconciliation with the approved funders.

Q: Which individuals may request commercial support from companies?
A: Requests for commercial support for accredited CE must be submitted to potential supporters by CCPD or an approved educational partner (collaborator). Course directors should work with the CCPD staff member to prepare commercial support funding requests. Depending on the amount of support sought, different procedures will be followed. Larger amounts of support require more extensive request documentation. Please contact a CCPD staff member to discuss your support needs so a determination can be made about how to proceed in seeking support.

Q: Who can sign letters of agreement for commercial support at CCPD?
A: All agreements for commercial support of certified CE activities must be executed by the Associate Dean or designated CCPD staff member.

Q: What are the restrictions on how to use funds?
A: Commercial support is used to underwrite the provider's expenses for developing and presenting an activity. Commercial support can be used to pay for the expenses of teachers and authors as well others who are engaged in the development of the activity for the provider. CCPD shall use the funds and equipment contributed by external companies to support activities; the funds and equipment shall not be used for any other purpose, activity, or other similar program. Meals that take place during CE activities may be paid for with industry support if this funding is managed by CCPD. We follow the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education & Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center policies.

Q: Can I have a non-CE presentation or session as part of my certified CE activity?
A: Non-CE sessions must be separated by time and space from the certified CE activity; Non-CE sessions cannot be interleaved with the certified sessions, and it must be communicated with the learners that the session is not eligible for CE (i.e., a networking session that takes place after the certified activity).

Q: What is in-kind support?
A: In-kind support refers to non-monetary contributions provided by an ineligible company in support of a CE activity in one of the following categories:

• Equipment loan
• Disposable supplies (non-biological, such as instruments/materials)
• Animal parts or tissue
• Human parts or tissue
• Facilities/space

The material provided must be a product of the donating company. This would not include providing meals or breaks.

Q: Can a certified CE activity receive in-kind support?
A: Once an activity has been approved by CCPD, certain types of in-kind support may be permitted, upon prior approval by the Associate Dean or designated CCPD staff member, so long as no marketing activity is associated with their use. When multiple products are available, every effort must be made to ensure broad inclusion of equipment from competing commercial interests.

Q: How can I tell if I am considered an employee of an ACCME-defined ineligible company?
A: If your employer’s primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients, then you are an employee of an ACCME-defined ineligible company.

Q: Can commercial funds designated for CE later be used for other purposes? If so, what purposes may they be used for (or applied to)?
A: Commercial funds contributed to support of a CCPD activity will be expended on the designated activity. Once the contractual agreements from the ineligible companies are met, if any funds remain available, these monies can be used for the development and implementation of additional educational activities in the following order:

1. CE activities within the same academic or hospital department/center.
2. Transferred to the CCPD holding account for a future CE activity upon approval by Associate Dean.
3. Educational activities provided by the course director’s academic or hospital department/center for practicing health professionals, trainees, medical students, or patients upon approval from the Associate Dean.

Q: Can unrestricted commercial donations to departments (or other school entities) be used to support a certified CE activity?
A: Yes, sponsorship is now accepted to support CCPD activities.

Q: What types of support are permitted for specific CE activities?
A: Donations from individuals, foundations, and charitable organizations that have no commercial bias may be designated for support of specific CE activities.

Q: How can we acknowledge and disclose commercial support?
A: Appropriate wording for any commercial support (financial or in-kind) received for a specific CE activity will be provided by CCPD. The acknowledgement cannot contain the use of trade names, product group messages, or ineligible companies’ logos. Acknowledgements can be made in the activity syllabus, opening slides and remarks, and marketing materials (if received prior to printing). Disclosure must always be made in advance of the activity.

Q: Are commercial exhibits and advertisements allowed? What guidelines govern this?
A: Yes, all commercial exhibits and advertisements will fully comply with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence.

Q: Can commercial employees plan or instruct in CE activities?
A: Commercial employees may not participate in the planning of CE activities. Commercial employees may serve as an instructor in CCPD activities only under narrowly defined circumstances. An employee of a commercial entity may present on: the scientific or discovery process itself, the results of basic (biologic, chemical, physical) research studies relevant to the clinical problem being addressed but not those specific to a commercial product or its clinical testing, and CE topics other than those related to the products and business lines of his/her employer. Commercial employees may neither teach about their products nor offer recommendations regarding patient care. Permission for an ineligible company employee to act as an instructor in a CCPD activity must be obtained in advance from the Associate Dean or designated CCPD staff member and the employee’s participation must be closely monitored by course leadership.

Q: Can ACCME-defined ineligible company employees plan or instruct in CE activities?
A: Ineligible company employees may not participate in the planning of CE activities. Ineligible company employees may serve as an instructor in certified CE activities only under narrowly defined circumstances. An employee of an ineligible company may present on: the scientific or discovery process itself, the results of basic (biologic, chemical, physical) research studies relevant to the clinical problem being addressed but not those specific to a commercial product or its clinical testing, and CE topics other than those related to the products and business lines of his/her employer. Ineligible company employees may neither teach about their products nor offer recommendations regarding patient care.

Q: Can ACCME-defined ineligible company employees serve as technical assistants in CCPD CE courses?
A: As a general rule, ineligible company employees are not permitted to assist in CE activities. Exceptions may be made if the commercial employee is needed for technical assistance essential to operating a piece of equipment in a demonstration critical to the educational mission of the activity. In such a circumstance, an employee may demonstrate use of the product, but may not discuss the indications for use of the product or its merit relative to competing products. These employees who provide technical assistance are required to complete a financial disclosure form. It is the responsibility of course leadership to appropriately monitor the employee’s participation in the CE activity for compliance with these guidelines.

Q: Can ACCME-defined ineligible company employees attend Einstein-Montefiore CE courses?
A: If the activity has received financial commercial support, one or two members of the supporter’s continuing education/independent education team will be allowed to attend to observe how the company’s commercial support was expended. The names of these individuals must be provided in advance to CCPD. In all other circumstances, commercial employees may attend, but only for their own education and they must pay full tuition. All commercial employees who attend Einstein-Montefiore courses must wear a conference name badge, wear no commercial identifiers (e.g., corporate logos), and engage in no sales or promotional activity.

Q: Can Einstein-Montefiore CE activities be marketed by ineligible company employees or on company websites?
A: No. This is not permitted because it could be misunderstood to imply a relationship that does not exist.

Q: Can pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer company logos and slogans be used?
A: All CE syllabi, brochures, course websites, lecture slides, etc. must be entirely free of commercial marketing or product messaging such as logos, slogans, etc.

Q: Can brand names be used during CE activities?
A: Descriptive terminology rather than brand names for pharmaceuticals (i.e., generic chemical names) and medical technologies and devices should be employed. To avoid learner confusion, it is permissible to introduce a brand name in conjunction with its generic equivalent if this promotes learning.

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Q: What are the responsibilities of a CE faculty member?
A: A faculty member is defined as an individual who is responsible for verbally presenting (or in written form) educational content of an activity to learners. This individual may also be involved in the development of said content or may work with content developed by authors.

Q: What forms are required from faculty?
A: Disclosure of Financial Relationships and any other assigned forms.

Q: What are the responsibilities of a content/peer reviewer?
A: The responsibility of the content/peer reviewer is to help mitigate any disclosed conflicts of interest. A content/peer reviewer validates the scientific accuracy of the activity content by providing written, unbiased and constructive feedback.

CCPD will ensure that there is a non-conflicted peer planner who provides oversight and has final responsibility about decisions concerning content. The non-conflicted planner will be advised of the conflicted planner’s relevant relationships with ineligible companies and instructed to ensure that all input from the conflicted planner was commercially unbiased, scientifically valid, and fair and balanced.

Faculty/speaker conflicts of interests are primarily resolved through a mandatory review of the course content by the independent non-conflicted content reviewer and/or the Associate Dean for CCPD or appropriate CE designee.

Q: Who may serve as a content/peer reviewer?
A: Any willing and able physician or clinician if the activity is planned by and for additional clinicians, preferably someone representing your audience, who has no relevant conflicts of interest.

Q: Can faculty receive credit for speaking?
A:  Yes.

Q: What is the timeline for faculty expense reimbursement?
A: If receipts are submitted within a week of the conference end-date, expect your reimbursement in two-four weeks following submission.

Q: Can medical students or someone with a bachelor’s degree serve as faculty?
A: Yes, anyone can serve as faculty, from a patient to a medical student to a non-credentialed community health worker, except for an ACCME-defined ineligible company employee. For activities with clinical content, all presenters must complete a financial disclosure form prior to their involvement in the activity.

Q: I’m a faculty member of a CE activity, how do I get a Visa letter?
A: Certain countries require participants to obtain a visa when attending a conference and may also request a letter from the CCPD to verify a participant’s attendance at the event. Some embassies may need to verify that registration fees have been paid in full and may require applicants to appear in person for an interview, causing delays in the application process. Applicants affected by these procedures are informed that additional screening is needed. Therefore, attendees should apply for a visa no later than three months prior to the conference.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, Center for Continuing Professional Development guidelines for providing visa invitation letters are as follows:

Visa letters should only be issued to:

• Speakers/presenters
• Committee members
• Attendees who have paid their registration fee in full and are not from one of the countries embargoed by the US Treasury
• Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (verify that the payment has been received before providing a letter)

If you would like to request a Visa invitation letter please send an email to cme@montefiore.org containing the below facts:

• Conference title, dates, and location
• Confirm whether or not the required registration fees have been paid in full
• The requester’s role at the conference

Additional information can be found on the following websites:

• S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Services
• Visa Service

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Q: What are the various educational formats?
A: The most common formats used include lectures, question and answer, panel discussion, and case-based discussion. For more learner engagement, course planners typically incorporate skills-based (both technical skills and communication skills) training, demonstrations, and audience response systems. Unique asynchronous activities can also be created with branching scenarios, quizzes, and interactive graphics.

Q: How should I select the educational format for my CE activity?
A: The selection of educational formats for your CE activity depends largely on the level of learner engagement, time commitment from your planning team and faculty, and the educational outcomes you are hoping to achieve. The CCPD conference planners are happy to assist in guiding you through your decision around your activity’s educational formats.

Q: How do I make my activity more engaging?
A: Consider incorporating educational formats where learners interact with the content or each other (i.e., audience response systems, role playing, etc.). Faculty speakers can be more participative in the process by facilitating discussion, writing test questions, observing and providing formative feedback for skills-based training, etc. If you need help ideating, we have consultation services to solidify a plan.

Q: How do I make my activity more patient-centered?
A: In order to develop an activity that is more patient-centered, you may consider including patients in the planning process and/or as a guest speaker. Here are two examples. For on-demand training videos or Internet-based enduring materials, patients can provide invaluable feedback. Ask patients if they are willing to review the training video and provide any insights from their point-of-view. For live meetings or webinars, a patient panel or interview has the potential to enhance the content delivery for the learners who can ask questions and have a better understanding of care from a patient’s perspective. It is also important to have patient outcomes in mind when designing your activity.

Q: How do I make my activity more interprofessional?
A: Interprofessional practice is the concept that patient care improves when members of a healthcare team work collaboratively to improve health, create supporting systems, and practice different models of approaches to patient care. In order to create a CE activity that is more interprofessional, consider including members of your healthcare team to your planning committee or panel of faculty speakers. By incorporating the voices and experiences of other clinicians who provide patient care alongside you, you enrich and diversify the learning experience and offer a CE activity that will assist in enhancing aspects of interprofessional collaborative practice.

Q: How do I incorporate cultural competency into my CE activity?
A:  Our office suggests several approaches to incorporate cultural competency into your CE activity:

• Request faculty speakers to include relevant data on diagnosis, management, treatment of disease for underrepresented minority groups
• Provide learners with resources, handouts, or other supplemental learning tools related to cultural competency of the specific area of medicine for your activity
• Ask one or more faculty speakers to dedicate a session to addressing the cultural/linguistic competencies
• If you would like to discuss these approaches in depth so that you may incorporate them into your activity, talk to the instructional designer assigned to your activity.

Q: How do I plan a CE activity addressing implicit bias?
A: One way to address implicit bias is providing continuing education to clinicians on how to minimize the potential effect of implicit bias in the healthcare workforce and patient care.

Because recognizing one’s implicit biases may be a sensitive topic to broach, consider planning a CE activity with small groups and emphasizing a space where issues discussed will remain confidential.

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Q: What guidelines exist for presentations, and where are they located?
A:  If you have financial relationships to disclose, it is absolutely crucial that you submit your presentation slides to allow for review by the course director. You may be recused from speaking if your presentation(s) is not received in a timely manner.

Q: What are general guidelines regarding presentations?
A: We’ve outlined high-level guidelines below:

• On average, a 30-minute presentation should contain 20 content slides, but this is all dependent on your presentation speed.
• Be sure to submit any videos you intend on sharing with our learners during your presentation, as they will need to be reviewed as well.
• Do not use industry logos in your presentation. Presentation slides cannot contain any advertising, corporate logo, trade name or a product-group message of an ACCME-defined commercial interest.
• Use generic names for products unless brand names are required for the education purpose, in which case use both the generic and the brand name. Eliminate any patient identifiers (HIPAA).
• Include source information for all copyrighted material used in you presentation

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Q: What is the process to develop an online course?

A: We take you through a step-by-step process that starts with a consultation meeting.  First, we will discuss the project's goals, timeline, and budget.  We will scope the project to identify stakeholders, target audience overview/implementation needs and goals, the current state of content (updating existing materials, already recorded, brand new, etc.), and ask you to reserve time to work on the project.  From there we will define the project's requirements, constraints, and opportunities along with providing the cost for services and secure required planning documents for the accreditation process. After the project has been reviewed and priced, we will curate content and design prototype materials.  Finally, we test and launch the project.  Once implemented, we market, provide learner support and prepare course budgets for final billing.

Q: What are online course/IEM guidelines regarding presentations?
A: There is a higher bar of responsibility for faculty who will be distributing their presentations as part of an online course versus those who present at live conferences. While it’s important to focus on the content and images to enhance speaking points, it’s also important to consider copyright and ACCME compliance issues. We’ve outlined high-level guidelines below:

• Do not use industry logos in your presentation.
• Use generic names for products unless brand names are required for the education purpose, in which case use both the generic and the brand name.
• Eliminate any patient identifiers (HIPAA).
• Always cite the source of the content you are using, whether it is from a website or a journal. It’s best to put the citation close to the content, but if you prefer, you can put it in the footer area of the slide with some notation to clarify what content is being referenced.
• There are many sources of free images on the Internet you can use.
• Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org) is a good place to start.  
• You can also add the search terms “royalty free images” in a Google search.
• Another option is to contact the copyright holder or author and ask for permission to use/reference their work in your presentation.
• You may also decide to reproduce the image, resulting in your own interpretation, this is often done for charts and graphs that are not too complex and relatively easy to create.
• Do not include any material that might cause a copyright infringement, in your presentation (including but not limited to cartoons, images, photographs, graphs from publications, etc.).
• Do not include any unpublished data or proprietary information in your presentation.

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Q: What are the responsibilities of a Departmental RSS Coordinator?
A: The Departmental RSS Coordinator is responsible for the administrative tasks associated with the approval and session management of an RSS activity. These tasks may include:

• Assisting the course director with the completion of the RSS activity planning documents
• Obtaining and following up on the completion of faculty disclosure/attestation forms
• Reviewing faculty’s signed disclosure/attestation forms for relevant conflicts and if a conflict is relevant, ensuring a COI Mitigation Form is completed prior to activity planning and/or a session
• Setting up logistics for the series (i.e., reserving conference rooms, coordinating video/audio/recording of sessions, catering, if applicable).
• Ensuring all session documentation is compliant and submitted prior to the start of each session
• Answering general questions from the learners related to the series
• Providing regular communication to the RSS activity learners regarding upcoming sessions
• Working closely with the course director and CCPD should an issue or concern arise
• Other duties related to the RSS activity as needed by the course director

Q: Is the Departmental RSS Coordinator considered a Planner?
A: A Planner plans content and selects speakers for the RSS Activity. Typically, Departmental RSS Coordinators plan the logistics of the series, so they are not considered to be Planners. However, if the Departmental RSS Coordinator has a role in planning the content for the RSS Activity, s/he will need to be disclosed as a Planner. An example of this could be an RSS Coordinator who helps select cases and/or topics for the activity.

Q: Can learners viewing a live RSS session at a remote location receive CE credit?
A: It depends on the RSS activity. CE credit for the live viewing of an RSS session at a remote location may be offered at the discretion of the course director and department. Specific information regarding CE credit eligibility for live telepresence viewing of an RSS activity will be provided directly by the department.

Q: Who is a Reviewer and how are they disclosed to Learners?
A:  The content/peer reviewer mitigates any disclosed conflicts of interest. This person validates the scientific accuracy of the activity content by providing written, unbiased and constructive feedback.

The content/peer reviewer must have no financial relationships with ineligible companies, and this information is disclosed to learners.

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