AOE Launches New Website and Monthly Newsletter
Welcome to the AOE Compliance Connection, AOE’s new monthly newsletter that offers accreditation board bulletins for the ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC, along with updates, highlights of AOE services, and information on upcoming activities and educational opportunities.
AOE is also excited to unveil its new look at: www.aoeconsulting.com! While our look is new, our commitment to Navigating Education Excellence remains the same.
Our new site provides many resources for existing and future clients, including:
- Weekly CME/CE compliance tips
- A CME/CE library of regulatory guidelines, policies, and proposals that impact the CME/CE Enterprise
- CME Watch, a bi-monthly video blog covering current CME/CE events and compliance insights
- CME/CE news updates
- Answers to frequently asked questions
- Links to accreditation board, associations and funder websites
This newsletter, the AOE Compliance Connection, and its archives, will also be accessible through our website, as well as previous video blogs and weekly compliance tips.
Get to know who we are, in particular, our Consulting Design Team by reading our bios and connect with us, or another member of our team, through social media, inquire@aoeconsulting.com or 303-557-0859.
Let AOE help navigate your CME/CE success!
Accreditation Board Bulletin
ACCME: The ACCME recently announced updates to the PARS System for the 2015 reporting year. Data fields were added, some fields were transitioned from optional to required, and others were removed entirely. As a snapshot, providers are now required to include the following data about each activity in 2015 (previously optional).
- Name of joint providers (formerly joint sponsor)
- Number of AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
- Competencies designed to address
- Name of the commercial supporter(s), monetary amount of support, and/or the type of in-kind support
The following data fields are no longer required for individual CME activities:
- Advertising and exhibit income (aggregate only in the Program Summary)
- Income from other sources (this category was eliminated and replaced with three specific income categories only in aggregate which are: registration fees, government grants, and private donations)
- Expenses (PARS will no longer collect data about CME program expenses)
There were terminology and definition changes which include the term sponsorship being changed to providership. Non-physicians are now called “other learners” with residents no longer included in this category. Residents are now included as physician participants beginning in 2015.
ACPE: Similar to the ACCME’s recently announced updates (April 2014), ACPE recently announced that it had implemented changes to their adopted Standards for Commercial Support to prohibit the use of commercial interest logos in the disclosure of commercial support to learners. The modifications are effective immediately, however accredited providers are not expected to reprint or change current materials however they are expected to make all necessary changes by May 2015. Additionally, ACPE approved a change in terminology from “cosponsorship” to “joint providership” in an effort to be consistent with accredited CME.
ANCC: The ANCC has also recently announced a move from the term “co-providership” to “joint-providership”. This change took effect immediately, but must be fully implemented by January 1, 2015. Additionally, just as ACCME and ACPE announced, the ANCC revised their Content Integrity Standards for Industry Support, prohibiting the use of commercial interest logos in required disclosure statements:
Sunshine Act (PPSA) Pulse
On October 31, 2014, CMS issued its final rule on the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, and there has been much ongoing discussion and in some instances, confusion, surrounding the final rule. CMS stated in its final rule that payments which did NOT meet the CMS definition of an “indirect payment” both needed to be reported, and at the same time, were not reportable. The final rule did however, make clear in several areas, including within the preamble, that “if an applicable manufacturer conveys “full discretion” to the CME provider, those payments were outside the scope of the rule” and therefore not reportable.
To further confound the issue, in mid-December 2014, CMS released a FAQ document on their website stating that “when an applicable manufacturer provides a payment to a CME organization for a CME event for physicians, and the manufacturer knows the identity of some physicians within a time period, that would be reportable.”
CMS has set precedent in the final rule that payments associated with accredited CME, meeting the current ACCME guidelines, are not be reportable. It appears there is confusion on the part of CMS between accredited CME and other forms of education and information. AOE will keep you up-to-date with information and will continue to translate CMS communication, as it is made available.
AOE Service in the Spotlight
Do your meeting attendees have questions about how to obtain their CME/CE credit? Would additional, hands-on CME/CE compliance expertise be helpful at your live meetings to aid in slide review, session audits and/or on-site faculty management?
From assistance with attendee evaluation questions to implementation and documentation of CME/CE compliance at annual, regional, and local meetings, AOE helps accredited organizations deliver excellent customer service and ensure compliance with ACCME, ANCC, ACPE, and several other accreditation board guidelines with our On-Site, On-DemandSM Accreditation Compliance Services. In this role, our staff becomes an extension of your team, bringing the compliance expertise needed to execute your CME/CE processes.
What are our clients saying about AOE’s On-Site, On-DemandSM?
AOE’s On-Site, On-Demand team allowed us to reduce staffing at our registration desk and earn kudos from attendees for improved support and quick answers to questions about credit and evaluations. This is now a must-have for our conference attendees.
– American Society of Pain Educators
Upcoming Activities/Education Opportunities
- ANCC Pathway to Excellence Conference® 2015
May 14-15, 2015, Louisville, KY
http://www.nursecredentialing.org/PathwayConference - ACEhp Conference 2015
January 14-17, 2015, Grapevine, TX
http://www.acehp.org/iMIS15/aCME/Events/Annual_Conference_General.aspx - CPE Administrator Webinars
Unlimited access available for 1 year from purchase
http://webinars.acpe-accredit.org/ - CME as a Bridge to Quality Accreditation Workshop
April 23-24, 2015, Chicago, IL
http://www.accme.org/events/cme-bridge-quality-accreditation-workshop-5 - ACPE Administrator Workshop 2015
April 27-28, 2015, Chicago, IL
https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=TReOZ3TKTQCcQXzCCKP5Yg
