The McGill Centre for Continuing Medical Education developed and accredited the case study “A hypertensive snow bird.” The Centre stands behind this case as both valid and important.
Dr. Lexchin's letter was forwarded to us by the CFPC and resulted in an internal review of the case. The review found no evidence that the use of the generic term telmisartan was influenced by the sponsor (Boehringer Ingelheim) or mdBriefCase. The review made several recommendations, all of which were implemented by the Centre and mdBriefCase and included changing the word telmisartan to “ARB” (angiotensin receptor blocker) in the online version, in response to Dr. Lexchin's concerns.
The Centre firmly believes in the delivery of high-quality unbiased CME and appreciates comments on content accredited by McGill.
Competing interests: Dr. Rosengarten did not receive payments, etc., from the company sponsoring the article. Income for his department was derived from mdBriefCase and was used to cover expenses and to fund CME projects.