Funding for continuing medical education

Paul Hébert and the CMAJ Editorial-Writing Team have identified an important issue concerning the sponsorship of continuing medical education in Canada.1 As they note, a large proportion of continuing medical education is funded by the pharmaceutical industry, and physicians have become habituated to receiving such subsidized learning opportunities.

The CMA's Council on Education and Workforce recognizes the many and varied challenges that physicians face as we strive to keep our knowledge and skills current so that we can recommend and prescribe the best possible treatment for each patient. The CMA has embedded the obligation of physicians to pursue lifelong learning in its Code of Ethics2 and has articulated the standards of ethical behaviour expected of physicians in its Guidelines for Physicians in Interactions with Industry.3 These guidelines provide advice to Canadian physicians who find themselves in a possible situation of conflict of interest in dealing with drug companies; they also outline requirements to ensure that continuing medical education sessions are as independent as possible of industry influence.

In January 2008, the CMA convened a meeting of national specialty societies and related medical organizations to discuss issues related to online continuing medical education. A prominent theme in the discussions was the desirability of diversifying sources of financial support for continuing medical education. An ad hoc working group was charged by participants with exploring the formation of a national alliance for online continuing medical education, one objective for which would be the identification of new models of funding. We welcome the discussion likely to be initiated by the CMAJ editorial1 and are confident that Canadian physicians are capable of identifying innovative and sustainable approaches to meet the ongoing educational needs of the profession.