Continuing Medical Education / Company Eligibility

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Cancer Genomics Consortium

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Policies and Procedures

     

1. CGC will follow ACCME Standards for Program Development 

As a joint provider with the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Cancer Genomics Consortium plans and produces its educational activities in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor.  

2. Disclosure of Financial Interest 

In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence, all parties (First authors of all submitted abstracts, moderators, platform presenters, program committee members, CGC board members, and CGC staff) in a position to control the content of an educational activity certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ must disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible company (see ACCME definition below), for any dollar amount, within the past 24 months that creates a real or apparent conflict of interest. Individuals who do not disclose are disqualified from participating in a CME activity. 

This disclosure pertains to relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services, which are used on or directed to patients, may be related to the subject matter of the presentation topic. Any real or apparent conflicts of interest related to the content of the presentations must be resolved prior to the educational activity. Disclosure of off-label, experimental or investigational use of drugs or devices must also be made known to the audience. 

3. Non-Participation in CME Activities by Ineligible Companies 

In August 2023, the ACCME revised their definition of a commercial interest, and renamed them as ineligible companies. By following the ACCME guidelines, the CGC will also apply this definition: 

The ACCME defines ineligible companies as "those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients." See ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education for more information. The ACCME provides a set of self-assessment questions that can help an organization determine whether it falls under the definition of an ineligible company. These questions are listed below:

Structured Self-Assessment Related to ACCME's Definition of an Ineligible Company *

  1. Does your organization, or a part of your organization, produce, market, sell, re-sell, or distribute healthcare products used by or on patients? 

  1. Does your organization advocate for, or on behalf of, an ineligible company? 

  1. Does your organization develop, or assist in the development of, non-accredited education in collaboration/partnership with ineligible companies? 

  1. Does your organization have a parent company that 

  • produces, markets, sells, re-sells, or distributes healthcare products used by or on patients, and/or 

  • advocates for, or on behalf of, an ineligible company? 

  • develops, or assists in the development of, non-accredited education in collaboration/partnership with ineligible companies? 

Note: A "parent company" is a separate legal entity that owns or fiscally controls an organization.

  1. Does your organization have a sister company that 

  • produces, markets, sells, re-sells, or distributes healthcare products used by or on patients, and/or 

  • advocates for, or on behalf of, ineligible companies? 

  • develops, or assists in the development of, non-accredited education in collaboration/partnership with ineligible companies? 

Note: A "sister company" is a separate legal entity which is a subsidiary of the same parent company that owns or fiscally controls an organization. 

5a. If Yes to 5, does your organization share management, employees, or governance structure with the sister company? (An example of a corporate structure that meets ACCME’s requirements for independence can be found here.) 

5b. If Yes to 5, are any owners, employees, or agents of the sister company involved in the planning, development, or implementation of educational content? 

5c. If Yes to 5, does the sister company control or influence, in whole or in part, the operations of your organization?

* If your organization answers yes to any of these questions, it would likely be defined by ACCME as an ineligible company. The CGC will follow ACCME regulation and cannot accept abstracts for peer review by employees of ineligible companies. Ineligible companies are encouraged to support CGC 2026 and present posters in the exhibitor poster session.

Not-for-profit or for-profit diagnostic laboratories that are not owned by device manufacturers may be considered eligible companies. Abstract submissions must have an absence of self-promotion in favor of rigorous, data-driven conclusions without embellishment. Both CGC and MAHEC will review abstracts content to ensure eligibility. All presentations must be balanced, transparent, and supported by data.