Directly Sponsored Course Information
Application Process, Fees, and Forms for Directly Sponsored Courses
All conference planning relative to CME activities which are certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit TM must be coordinated by and through the Office of Communications and Outreach. Responsibilities between the Office of CME and the Course Directors and Coordinators can and do differ depending on the type and scope of the activity. All UTCOM certified CME activities are expected to be planned, implemented, and evaluated in compliance with the ACCME Essential Areas and their Elements, the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, and the Office of CME Policies and Procedures. The important point is that the Office of CME must be notified and involved at the earliest stage of planning.
Initial Planning and Requirements
First and foremost relative to conferences, an Course Director (or his/her designee) must contact the Office of CME. All direct sponsored activities must have the co-sponsorship of a UTCOM clinical department. An initial planning session is conducted where all issues relative to certification of credit and conference planning are discussed. Responsibilities are identified and assigned.
The next step is the completion of an Interactive CMDE Application for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit TM which is submitted to the Office of CME along with required documentation. Applications must provide documentation that compliance with ACCME Essential Areas and their Elements and the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support have been met and the activity meets the definition of CME. After thorough review by the Office of CME, the activity application packet is forwarded to the CME Associate Dean at UT Chattanooga for final review and approval.
Budgeting and Financial Obligation
In general, income and expenses are processed by the Office of Communications and Outreach. An account of all income and expenses will be kept by the Office of Communications and Outreach for each individual activity. Income sources are typically registration fees, exhibit fees and educational grants from commercial interests such as pharmaceutical, hospital equipment, and health care product and service companies. The source of all support from commercial interests must be disclosed to learners. All commercial supported Activities must comply with the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support. Click here for Fee Schedule.
The financial risk is shared by the department and the Office of CME. If the course realizes revenue, the Office of CME receives $500 to offset the costs of the certification process. Remaining revenue will be shared equally between the UTCOM department and the Office of CME after all expenses are paid. If surplus revenue is not realized, certification costs will be subsidized by the UTGSM Dean’s office and the remaining deficit will be covered by a restricted account identified by the UT Department.
All educational grants associated with CME activities must have a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with the commercial interest. All LOA's must be approved by the Associate Dean for CME in the Chattanooga Office of CME and follow the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support.
Activity Promotion
Promotional material will be designed by the Office of Communications and Outreach and must contain certain ingredients relative to CME credit and the educational program. These elements include registration policies, accessibility, educational objectives as well as the appropriate certification statements. Also, brochures will include information about registration and lodging (if applicable).
The accreditation statement will appear on all activity material including promotional materials with the exception of initial save-the-date type activity announcements.
The University of Tennessee College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The University of Tennessee College of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of __ hour(s) of AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The Office of Communications and Outreach must have final approval on all brochures and promotional materials.
Registration
Participants must register for conferences and symposia. In most cases, advance registration along with registration fee is required. Registration information is provided in promotional material prior to the activity.
UT Conferences provides web registration for all UT CME activities for a nominal fee that is charged back to the conference. In addition to advance registration, allowances are always made for on-site registration the day of the event.
Course fees for certain individuals may be waived at the discretion of the Course Director and will be restricted to speakers and department chairs. The Office of CME employs the following policies with regard to registration:
- In order to receive a full refund, UT Conferences must receive written notification of cancellation at least one week prior to the start date of the conference. A $40 processing fee will be deducted if a written request for a refund is received within seven days prior to the course date. No refund will be issued without prior written notification.
- We reserve the right to cancel any course based on enrollment or conditions beyond our control. In cases of cancellation, each registrant will be notified by telephone with written notification and a full refund following. UTCOM is not responsible for any other cost incurred, such as airline or hotel penalties.
Although full-time faculty, residents, and students receive a reduced or waived registration fee for UTCOM sponsored or joint-sponsored CME activities, they must register in advance.
Food and Social Functions
The Office of CME makes arrangement for social events or meals at CME activities. These functions generate a significant portion of conference costs. Therefore, careful planning and an accurate count of participants are necessary. Social events or meals at CME activities cannot compete with or take precedence over the educational activity.
On-Site Activity Management/Staffing
Up to four UTCME staff members (Coordinator, Director, AV Technician and Registrar) will be considered complimentary attendees of the conference in order to ensure compliance with the ACCME Essential Areas and their elements, and ACCME Standards for Commercial Support. Staff travel expenses will be billed to the conference budget in accordance with the travel policies approved by the State of Tennessee for state employees.
On-site management of direct sponsored conference and symposia will be the responsibility of the Office of CME. On-site management may include the following:
- Preparing name tags and sign-in sheets
- Assigning exhibit space
- Coordinating food functions
- Scheduling audiovisuals
- Distributing handout and syllabi
- Distributing and collecting activity evaluations
- Awarding CME certificates
- Assisting the course director and conference faculty
Speakers
Conferences and symposia require that the sponsoring department and the Office of CME work together to identifying and contacting speakers. Once speakers are determined for conferences and symposia, the Office of CME contacts them directly to obtain information on disclosure/conflict of interest, objectives, topics, schedules, handouts, audiovisuals, and travel arrangements.
Honoraria and Expense Reimbursement Policy
Full-time faculty are expected to contribute to all aspects of the medical education mission of UTCOM. Faculty are expected to teach medical students, residents, and physician colleagues in continuing medical education. Therefore, it is not appropriate for faculty to accept honoraria from CME activities sponsored by UTCOM. Faculty may accept honoraria from CME presentations sponsored by other accredited CME organizations as their contracts allow.
Visiting faculty may be paid honoraria and reimbursement of expenses associated with presentations based upon submission of original receipts. There is no maximum honorarium amount for visiting faculty as the amount varies with the specialty and subspecialty, speaker qualifications, and nature of a CME conference.
Speakers, medical directors, planning committee members or individuals having any control over activity content may not receive payment directly from a commercial interest for honoraria, travel or out-of-pocket expenses.
Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships
All individuals with control over CME activity content must inform learners prior to the beginning of an activity whether relevant or no relevant financial relationships exist. When disclosing financial relationships to the learner, the individual's name, the name of the commercial interest(s) and the nature of the relationship with the commercial interest must be given. When there is no relevant financial relationship, learners must be informed that no financial relationship exists. Disclosure must never include trade names or product group messages.
There are various ways that can be used to inform learners prior to the beginning of an activity whether they have relevant or no relevant financial relationship. Including the information in the activity syllabi, handouts, beginning of presentation on speaker slides and verbal disclosure are appropriate ways to inform learners.
When information about faculty/provider relationships is disclosed to participants verbally and in writing it is required that the activity file include verification that this disclosure to learners actually occurred at the activity. An example of the written disclosure can be put into the file or a representative of the provider (e.g. Course Director or designee) who was in attendance at the time of the verbal disclosure must attest in writing: (1) that verbal disclosure did occur based on the information contained on the completed Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships Form; and (2) itemize the content of the disclosed information by attaching a completed Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships Form. A sample attestation may be:
I confirm that the information contained on the attached Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships Form was verbally presented to attendees prior to the activity. I further acknowledge that this activity was for scientific and educational purposes only and did not promote specific proprietary business interests that may be listed on the form.
This statement should be signed and dated by the provider representative and turned into the Office of CME within 30 days of activity.
Attendance and Record Keeping
The ACCME Essential Areas require documentation and record keeping. Each CME activity file should have copies of (1) attendee lists; (2) evaluation summaries; (3) activity financial reconciliation; (4) speaker honorarium contracts; (5) financial disclosures; (6) all promotional material; (7) planning information; and (8) letters of agreement with commercial interests when applicable. These files are to be maintained for six years.
Addition to the paper file, computer files are established which contain the title and date of the CME activity, attendees, and number of credits awarded. Each attendee's participation is also recorded in an individual file. Transcripts will be mailed to each participant after the conference.
Activity Evaluation
Standardized evaluation forms are provided by the Office of CME. Additionally, participants are asked to participate in a pre and exit test conducted by audience response system. Questions are provided by the speakers based on their presentations. Three to six months after the conference, a post test will be sent to participants electronically. Included with the presentation questions are questions regarding the use of information gleaned from the conference and its impact on the participant’s practice.
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine
Office of Communications and Outreach
1924 Alcoa Highway
Knoxville, Tennessee 37920
Phone - (865) 305-9190
FAX - (865) 305-6823
cme@tennessee.edu