Standard 5: Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education
The UF COP Office of Continuing Pharmacy Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. As an accredited provider, we must adhere to the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.
The Standards are designed to:
- Ensure that accredited continuing education serves the needs of patients and the public.
- Present learners with only accurate, balanced, scientifically justified recommendations.
- Assure healthcare professionals and teams that they can trust accredited continuing education to help them deliver safe, effective, cost-effective, compassionate care that is based on best practice and evidence.
- Create a clear, unbridgeable separation between accredited continuing education and marketing and sales.
To learn more about the Standards for Integrity and Independence, please visit https://www.acpe-accredit.org/continuing-education-provider-accreditation/ or view the pdf linked below.
COI Guidelines:
Any individual who may have a role in controlling the continuing education activity must complete the UF COP CPE COI Disclosure Form to share all financial relationships with ineligible companies during the past 24 months. Disclosure information must include the name of the ineligible company with which the person has a financial relationship and the nature of the financial relationship.
Who needs to disclose?
Planners
Examples: Planning committees, CE staff, editors, activity directors
Faculty/Speakers
Examples: Speakers, panelists, instructors, trainers, coaches, educational consultants
Authors
Examples: Writers, editors, instructional designers, content developers, educational researchers
Reviewers
Examples: Peer reviewers
Ineligible Companies
Companies that are ineligible to be accredited (ineligible companies) are those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples of such organizations include:
- Advertising, marketing, or communication firms whose clients are ineligible companies
- Bio-medical startups that have begun a governmental regulatory approval process
- Compounding pharmacies that manufacture proprietary compounds
- Device manufacturers or distributors
- Diagnostic labs that sell proprietary products
- Growers, distributors, manufacturers or sellers of medical foods and dietary supplements
- Manufacturers of health-related wearable products
- Pharmaceutical companies or distributors
- Pharmacy benefit managers
- Reagent manufacturers or sellers
Eligible Organizations
Organizations eligible to be accredited (eligible organizations) are those whose mission and function are: (1) providing clinical services directly to patients; or (2) the education of healthcare professionals; or (3) serving as fiduciary to patients, the public, or population health; and other organizations that are not otherwise ineligible. Relationships with these organizations do not need to be disclosed. Examples of such organizations include:
- Ambulatory procedure centers
- Blood banks
- Diagnostic labs that do not sell proprietary products
- Electronic health records companies
- Government or military agencies
- Group medical practices
- Health law firms
- Health profession membership organizations
- Hospitals or healthcare delivery systems
- Infusion centers
- Insurance or managed care companies
- Nursing homes
- Pharmacies that do not manufacture proprietary compounds
- Publishing or education companies
- Rehabilitation centers
- Schools of medicine or health science universities
- Software or game developers
What happens if an individual refuses to provide the requested disclosure information (COI Disclosure Form)?
The Standards for Integrity and Independence require that individuals who refuse to provide this information be disqualified from involvement in the planning and implementation of accredited continuing education.
What types of financial relationships need to be disclosed?
All financial relationships with ineligible companies regardless of the dollar amount or relevance to the education. Examples include:
- Grant/Research Support: Research funding from ineligible companies should be disclosed by the principal or named investigator even if that individual’s institution receives the research grant and manages the funds.)
- Consultant
- CE Speakers’ Bureau
- Stockholder (privately held): Individuals who own stock (not through a mutual fund or pension plan) in privately held ineligible companies are considered owners or employees and therefore must be excluded from planning or implementation of the education.
- Stockholder (publicly traded): Individuals who own stock in publicly traded ineligible companies are not considered owners or employees.
- Other: employee, owner, advisor, independent contractor (including contracted research), royalties or patent beneficiary, executive
- Note:
- *Mutual funds and pension plans do not need to be disclosed.
- *Owners or employees of an ineligible company must be excluded from planning or implementation of the accredited continuing education (exceptions, p.4 Guideline 3: Identify, Mitigate, and Disclose Relevant Financial Relationships).