Des Moines University Continuing Medical Education (DMU CME) is committed to offering educational programs and products that are fair, balanced, and free from any commercial bias.

Fair, Balanced and Unbiased Content
DMU CME believes it's important to identify and manage financial and non-financial relationships that individuals in control of the educational content have with products and services that can be used by health professionals. A relationship with a company or person that produces products or services that can be used by health professionals creates a conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest should not automatically preclude an individual from controlling content. Rather, mechanisms must be used to manage the conflict in the interest. When planners, teachers, or authors of DMU CME programs have a relationship with a company or person that produces products or services that can be used by health professionals DMU CME will take steps to manage the relationship. Disclosure and management of such relationships are critical to ensuring that the education offered by DMU CME is fair, balanced, and free from commercial bias.

Process
All planners, teachers, authors, or other individuals who can control the educational content of DMU programs will be required to disclose to the CME office the financial/non-financial relationships they or their significant others have with a company or person that produces products or services that can be used by health professionals. DMU CME will review these disclosed relationships and select a course of action to appropriately manage the relationship. Managing the relationship may include steps such as review of educational content, addition of others who do not have relationships, modification of role, or recusal. DMU CME will take steps to assess bias in its education by asking for feedback from planners, teachers, and learners. If DMU CME finds that bias was present, it will take steps to ensure learners do not encounter such bias in the future.

Any individual who refuses to disclose relevant financial relationships will be disqualified from influencing CME content and cannot have control of, or responsibility for, the development, management, presentation or evaluation of the activity. The intent of the disclosure is not to prevent an individual with a significant financial or other relationship from being involved in a CME activity, but rather to provide the audience with information on which they can make their own judgments. Persons who fail to sign and return this form are prohibited from the CME portion of an activity. 

Glossary of Terms

Commercial Interest

Any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. DMU CME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be commercial interests - unless the provider of clinical service is owned, or controlled by, an ACCME-defined commercial interest.

Financial/ Non-Financial Relationships

Financial relationships are situations in which the 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. DMU CME considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner. There is not set a minimum dollar amount for relationships to be significant. Inherent in any amount is the incentive to maintain or increase the value of the relationship. With respect to financial relationships with commercial interests, when a person divests themselves of a relationship it is immediately not relevant to conflicts of interest but it must be disclosed to the learners for 12 months.

With respect to personal financial relationships, contracted research includes research funding where the institution gets the grant and manages the funds and the person is the principal or named investigator on the grant.

Non-financial relationships might include non-compensation service on a board or committee.

Relevant Relationships

Relevant relationships are defined as occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest. DMU CME:

  • focuses on relationships in the 12-month period before the time that the individual is being asked to assume a role controlling content of a CE activity,
  • has not set a minimum dollar amount for relationships to be considered relevant, and
  • realizes that inherent in any amount is the incentive to maintain/ increase the relationship’s value.

Conflict of Interest

Circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of a commercial interest with which he/she has a financial relationship.

What Was Received

Salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other benefit.

Role(s)

Employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and ‘other activities (please specify).

Healthcare, Education, or Technology Product

Unless otherwise indicated, DMU CME educational activities are not promotional, and individuals participating in these activities should not be using them as opportunities to sell their company, products or services. The committee(s) charged with the development of these activities will review all disclosures and monitored sessions to ensure non-promotion.

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If you have relevant financial/non-financial relationships, identify the name(s) of proprietary entities/interests producing health care, educational, and/or technological goods or services and with which you and/or your spouse/partner have had or have a relevant financial/non-financial relationship within past twelve (12) months.
Nature of Financial RelationshipName of Company(s) and RelationshipSelf - Indicate with an "X"Spouse / Partner - Indicate with an "X"
Speaker's bureau
Consultant
Grant/research support (principal investigator or working directly for company/company's agent)
Self-managed stock shareholder
Honoraria
Full-time / part-time employee
How do you plan to balance any potential conflicts of interest and keep your presentation free of commercial bias? Check all that apply.
If at any time during my presentation I discuss an off-label use of a commercial product/device, I understand that I must provide disclosure of that intent.
How do you plan to balance any potential conflicts of interest and keep your presentation free of commercial bias? Check all that apply.
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- I will uphold Des Moines University’s continuing medical education standards and guidelines to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in my role in the planning, development or presentation of this activity. - I understand that continuing education accreditation guidelines prohibit me from accepting any reimbursement (financial, gifts, or in-kind exchange) for this presentation from any source other than the accredited CME provider or its educational partner. - I agree to comply with the requirement to protect health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. - I will information learners when I discuss or reference unapproved or unlabeled uses of therapeutic agents and/or products.Additional information may be requested to address any perceived conflict of interest. - All identified conflicts of interest will be managed and resolved in advance of the activity and disclosure information will be shared with the activity participants.

Conflict of Interest Resolution

The following mechanisms have been identifies to resolve conflicts interest. Additional information may be request to resolve conflicts of interest. Disclosure will be made to participants prior to the educational activity. 

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