For approval of continuing education credit for Conference sessions, individuals need to disclose relationships with a commercial interest if both (a) the relationship is financial and occurred within the past 12 months and (b) the individual has the opportunity to affect the content of CME about the products or services of that commercial interest.

The disclosure form must be completed each calendar year by:

• C-Who Board of Directors
• Conference chairpersons
• Conference Planning Committee members
• Conference Proposal Review Team members
• Conference session Presenters and Co-presenters
• C-Who staff and advisors

Definition of Financial Relationships

Financial relationships are those relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honorarium for promotional speakers’ bureau, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options, or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefits.

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.

ACCME considers the relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include the financial relationships of a spouse or partner.

Contracted research includes research funding where the institution gets the grant and manages the fund’s and the person is the principal or named investigator on the grant.

There is no minimum dollar amount for relationships.

Relevant financial relationships and conflicts of interest resulting from those relationships must be revealed to the audience and resolved prior to the activity. Persons refusing to disclose or resolve relevant relationships will be disqualified from being a part of this CME activity.

Definition of Commercial Interest

A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing healthcare goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients.

Providers of clinical service directly to patients are not commercial interests – (unless the provider of clinical service is owned, or controlled by, a commercial interest)

The following are NOT considered commercial interests:

• 501-C Non-profit organizations that do not advocate for commercial interests
• Government organizations
• Non-health care related companies
• Liability insurance providers
• Health insurance providers
• Group medical practices
• For-profit hospitals
• For-profit rehabilitation centers
• For-profit nursing homes
• Blood banks
• Diagnostic laboratories