Drugmakers may be making progress at tightening internal controls, but educational grants are still ripe for abuse, concudes a Senate Finance Commitee report released today. Some supposedly independent programs may still be influenced too much by drug-company sponsors, and oversight of accredited CME providers is insufficient to guarantee independence.

“This report shows some separation between medical education and marketing efforts, but this process still isn’t clean enough,” says committee chair Max Baucus.

Of 23 drugmakers queried, most appear to have taken steps to separate grant-making for educational programs from marketing. But in 2005 and 2006, 18 of 76 CME providers reviewed by ACCME - or 24 percent - didn’t comply with at least one of the standards meant to ensure independence. And the accreditation council can take up to nine years to impose penalties.

Meanwhile, ACCME reviewed 76 accredited CME providers for compliance with the ACCME standards, and 18 were not in compliance with at least one element of the standards. And neither ACCME nor drugmakers compile info about the number of precent of company-sponsored CME programs that discuss off-label use of the sponsor’s drugs.

The committee concludes by saying “the major drug companies have adopted corporate policies that, on their face, don’t allow educational grants to be awarded for unlawful purposes. However, corporate policies still allow this industry to walk a fine line between violating rules prohibiting off-label promotion and awarding grant money in a manner likely to increase sales of their products, including sales for off-label uses. The opportunity for abuse remains, particularly in the following four areas: kickbacks; veiled advertising; bias in clinical protocols; and off-label promotion.

Further reading….
The committee press release;
The commitee report.[tags]ACCME, Continuing Medical Education[/tags]