[ST-36] Guidelines for collaboration of industry and surgical organizations in support of research and continuing education

[by the American College of Surgeons]

Encouraged by the College's Advisory Council for General Surgery, these guidelines were developed by the College's Committee on Ethics. They were approved by the Board of Regents at its meeting on October 20-22, 2000.

Collaboration between the medical industry and surgeons and surgical organizations has benefitted health care delivery in North America for years. Financial support from industry has enhanced surgical research and the continuing medical education (CME) of surgeons. However, the primary objective of professional interactions between surgeons or surgical organizations and industry should be the improvement of patient care. It is the responsibility of surgeons to ensure that this care is not inappropriately affected by collaboration with industry. Surgical organizations need to organize CME programs of the highest quality for their members, while maintaining costs at a fiscally responsible and reasonable level. These guidelines for industry support seek to maximize corporate participation in CME programs while maintaining the autonomy and impartiality of individual surgeons and surgical organizations. They are based on the principles of: (1) openness; (2) quality of teaching and research as determined by experts; (3) freedom from conflict of interest; and (4) appropriate recognition for industry support.

  1. General guidelines: Meetings

    1. Surgical organizations should have the ultimate responsibility for the planning and development of CME programs. Industry supporters of CME programs should not influence the planning, content, or implementation of an organization's CME program.

    2. Industry supporters may not organize any functions involving attendees at a surgical organization's CME program that conflict with scientific sessions or social events. Industry exhibits should enhance the scientific activities of the CME program and not interfere with the scientific program.

    3. Industry supporters may not use the surgical organization's name, logo, or seal in conjunction with advertising or promotion without written permission of the organization.

    4. Written or recorded details of the scientific program may not be reproduced without the written consent of the surgical organization.

    5. Industry sponsors may not offer direct payment to CME program organizers, participants, or attendees to cover travel, accommodations, or honoraria, nor may such individuals accept payments if offered. Support of CME programs shall be accepted only as unrestricted grants or as exhibitor registration fees.

    6. No industry promotional materials should be displayed or distributed in the same room during scientific presentations of single session meetings. In larger meetings with multiple simultaneous sessions, the access to promotional materials shall be controlled by the surgical organization in order to avoid any appearance of a direct connection between the distribution of promotional materials and the scientific presentation.

    7. Representatives of industry sponsors may not engage in sales or promotional activities during scientific sessions, social events, or business meetings.

    8. Industry support of the meetings through educational grants or exhibitor fees may be acknowledged on promotional materials and/or in the agenda of the CME program. Scientific session moderators may recognize support during the announcements of the meeting.

    9. Program committees may not be in a position of conflict of interest by virtue of an undisclosed relationship with industrial companies that fund CME activities or surgical research activities.

    10. Presenters' lectures or posters shall disclose, as part of their presentation, any industry support related to the work being presented.

  2. General guidelines: Research/grants/fellowship awards

    1. Scholarships or other funds to permit medical students, residents, or fellows to attend educational events shall be permissible as long as the selection of participants for these funds is made by their academic institutions or by a surgical organization.

    2. Selection of research grants and/or awarding of fellowships supported by industry shall be made by surgical organizations free of any influence from industry.

    3. Industry support of research may be recognized in the minutes of business meetings. However, industry representatives may not occupy prominent positions at business meetings, scientific sessions, or social events.

  3. Management of funds from industrial sponsors

    1. Decisions regarding funding arrangements for CME programs should be the responsibility of the surgical organization's board or executive committee (or equivalent). Funds from industrial supporters shall be in the form of an unrestricted educational grant made payable to the surgical organization, or in the form of a CME program exhibitor registration fee. The terms, conditions, and purposes of such grants and funds shall be documented by a signed agreement between the industry supporter and the surgical organization. No funds from an industrial source should be paid to the members of the organization's board or executive committee, or others involved in planning CME meetings.

    2. Industrial support shall be disclosed in printed announcements and programs and in all manuscripts published of work supported with industrial funding; however, reference may not be made to specific products.

(These guidelines concerning corporate participation of CME programs and research have been compiled based on the published guidelines of the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

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Reprinted from Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons
Vol.86, No. 5, May 2001

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by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3211