The Academy protects the integrity of its educational program content by strict enforcement of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. USCAP takes the following steps to ensure all CME activities comply with these Standards.

Development and Control of CME Content

Educational activities generated by USCAP are developed and implemented by the Education Committee. These credentialed, respected pathologists exclusively control program content. Presenters, authors, planners and reviewers are instructed to reference evidence or best practices during the planning process and prior to presentation.

Industry has no role in controlling program content or in selecting topics, faculty or course directors, and USCAP does not accept commercial support for any CME activity.

Management of Conflicts of Interest

USCAP requires all individuals who are in a position to control the content of a CME activity to disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible companies during the past 24 months. An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. USCAP has established and implemented mechanisms for mitigating conflicts prior to delivery of the education activity to learners.

• Financial relationships are defined by the ACCME as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 24 months.
• A conflict of interest occurs when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of an ineligible company with which he/she has a financial relationship.
• An individual who refuses to disclose financial relationships will not be allowed to participate in the education activity.

Management and mitigation of conflicts of interest occurs through a variety of mechanisms USCAP has set in place, including peer review by members of the CME Subcommittee and Education Committee, who provide feedback and expectations for modification to CME content to be made, if necessary. Effective peer review of content prior to presentation or publication of educational content helps USCAP ensure that content is valid and scientifically based.  A second-tier review of abstracts or papers by individuals with no financial relationships with ineligible companies may confer additional protection. In addition, USCAP includes in its COI management process feedback from learners who express need for investigation by assessing objectivity through their evaluations.

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships to Learners

USCAP believes transparency is critical to independent CME and is committed to informing learners if anyone in a position to control CME content has relevant financial relationships with an ineligible company. USCAP supports the ACCME’s position that informed learners are final safeguards in assuring that a CME activity is independent from commercial influence.

• The disclosure mechanism identifies if individuals involved in planning or presenting content for a CME activity have financial relationships with ineligible companies.
• Reivew of the disclosures by USCAP staff and committee members determine which disclosures are relevant to the activity.
• Requiring disclosure of financial interests prior to presentation alerts learners to the possibility of bias, and to the need to evaluate objectivity of the activity in order to characterize further the perceived bias.
• Disclosures are published in meeting materials so that learners are informed prior to the beginning of any CME activity. Disclosures are also projected to learners before the presentations.

Keeping Education and Promotion Separate

USCAP maintains policies on exhibits and commercial promotion associated with educational offerings and takes steps to review and update these polices as the environment and regulations change. USCAP requires that all commercial promotion, including exhibits, is completely separate from USCAP’s education. USCAP requires commercial exhibitors to attest that they have no input into decisions regarding selection of educational programs, program content, or faculty, and that they understand and will comply with exhibitor guidelines.

The Education Committee, CME Subcommittee, Executive Vice President, and operational staff share responsibility for the vigorous investigation, management and documentation of infractions or perceived bias or instances of any promotion detected within USCAP’s education. Assessments from learners, committed volunteers, and skilled staff are final steps to ensure that USCAP’s educational content is independent from commercial interests and free of any commercial bias.