The Chief Medical Officer of a pharmaceutical company has a phenomenal network of contacts and offered to help secure faculty for our accredited event. Is this permitted?
No. Per Standard 2, "the accredited provider must ensure that all decisions related to the planning, faculty selection, delivery, and evaluation of accredited education are made without any influence or involvement from the owners and employees of an ineligible company." Therefore, this employee is barred from involvement in faculty selection.
What should we do when a learner says he/she perceives commercial bias in our accredited activity?
A single report of commercial bias might not be cause for concern; multiple reports should raise a red flag. Many accredited providers establish a threshold for reports of bias, and once it's met, take action to investigate further. Appropriate measures include contacting the learner for clarity/additional context, issuing a warning or probationary measure to a faculty member or content creator, or editing recorded live sessions before they are provided to learners.
