BLOGSCAN - Stanford's CME Money Goes Into a Pool

On the Carlat Psychiatry Blog, Dr Daniel Carlat analyzed the new Stanford policy that would direct all commercial funds supporting continuing medical education (CME) into a single pool. As Dr Carlat pointed out, the devil may be in the details of this policy, which still allows connection of funding to some (admittedly broad) particular clinical categories. Furthermore, although the policy would apparently sever direct connections between funding from particular companies and particular CME courses, I do not see how it could prevent informal communications between commercial sponsors and academics that could shape the subject matter and content of these courses. Such communication is now easy since so many medical faculty already have financial relationships with specific drug, device, biotechnology or other health care corporations.