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Arnold S. Relman, MD

JAMA. 2008;300(9):1071-1073.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Should professional medical institutions (medical schools and teaching hospitals) and their staff accept support from industry for their educational programs? This long-standing debate has become more urgent in recent years, particularly with respect to accredited continuing medical education (CME). With a budget now approaching $3 billion, CME is more than half supported by industry.¹ Currently, most industry support is distributed through medical education and communication companies (MECCs) that act as agents for the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Many more billions of drug industry largesse is expended on personal gifts, favors, and payments to the physicians on the staff of teaching institutions.²

The Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) accredits medical institutions and MECCs to provide CME and has promulgated voluntary guidelines aimed at promoting the quality and independence of the educational programs they deliver.³ Nevertheless, given the major financial contribution from industry, there has been much discussion . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.