Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A)
Policy
statement
Specific procedures must be followed
when planning and administering American nurses credentialing center/Ohio
nurses association "ANCC/ONA" continuing nursing education "CNE" activities
that receive commercial support funding. ANCC defines "commercial support" is
when a commercial entity provides money or in-kind services to a provider for
an activity. The provider unit must adhere to the ANCC content integrity
standards for industry support in CNE activities at all times.
(B)
Purpose of policy
To maintain compliance, educational
activities receiving external commercial support must adhere to the ANCC
criteria and ONA rules as defined in the 2015 provider unit
manual.
(C)
Procedure
(1)
There must be complete independence from proprietary
entities in the planning, designing, delivering and evaluating CNE activities.
The university of Toledo (provider) must make all decisions regarding the
disposition and disbursement of commercial support. The university of Toledo
(provider) cannot be required by an entity with a commercial interest to accept
advice or services concerning teachers, authors, or other education matters,
including content, from the entity as conditions of contributing funds or
services.
(2)
All commercial support associated with a continuing
nursing education activity must be given with the full knowledge and approval
of the CNE director.
(3)
The terms, conditions, and purposes of the commercial
support must be documented in a written agreement with the entity that includes
the university of Toledo (provider) and its educational partner(s). The
agreement must include the provider, even if the support is given directly to
the provider's educational partner or a co-provider.
(a)
The written
agreement must specify the entity that is the source of commercial
support.
(b)
Both the entity and the university of Toledo director
must sign the written agreement regarding the support to be provided or
accepted.
(4)
The provider, the co-provider, or designated
educational partner must directly pay any teacher or author honoraria or
reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses in compliance with the provider's
written policies and procedures.
(a)
No other payment shall be given to the director of the
activity, planning committee members, teachers, or authors, co-provider, or any
others involved with the supported activity.
(b)
If faculty or
authors are listed on the agenda as facilitating or conducting a presentation
or session, but participate in the remainder of an educational event as a
learner, their expenses can be reimbursed and honoraria can be paid for their
teacher or author role only.
(c)
The provider may
not use commercial support to pay for travel, lodging, honoraria, or personal
expenses for non-teacher or non-author participants of a continuing nursing
education activity. The provider may use commercial support to pay for travel,
lodging, honoraria, or personal expenses for bona fide employees and volunteers
of the provider, co-provider or educational partner.
(5)
Social events or
meals at continuing nursing education activities cannot compete with, or take
precedence over, the educational events.
(6)
Arrangements for
commercial exhibits or advertisements cannot influence planning or interfere
with the presentation, nor can they be a condition of the provision of
commercial support for continuing education activities.
(a)
Product-promotion
material or product-specific advertisement of any type is prohibited in or
during continuing nursing education activities. The editorial and advertisings
material on the same products on subjects must be avoided. Live (staffed
exhibits, presentations) or enduring (printed or electronic advertisements)
promotional activities must be kept separate from continuing nursing
education.
(i)
Print, advertisements and promotional materials shall not be
interleafed within the pages of the continuing nursing education content.
Advertisemen
ts and
promotional materials may face the first or last pages of printed CNE content
as long as these materials are not related to the continuing nursing education
content they face and are not paid for by the entities with commercial
interests in the continuing nursing education activity.
(ii)
Computer-based,
advertisements and promotional materials shall not be visible on the screen at
the same time as the continuing nursing education content and shall not be
interleafed between computer "windows" or screens of the continuing nursing
education content.
(iii)
Audio and video recording, advertisements and
promotional materials shall not be included within the continuing nursing
education. There will be no "commercial breaks."
(iv)
Live
face-to-face continuing nursing education, advertisements and promotional
materials shall not be displayed or distributed in the educational space
immediately before, during, or after a continuing nursing education activity.
Providers shall not allow representatives of an entity with commercial
interests to engage in sales or promotional activities while in the space or
place of the continuing nursing education activity.
(b)
Educational
materials that are part of a continuing nursing education activity, such as
slides, abstracts, and handouts, shall not contain any advertising, trade name,
or a product-group message.
(c)
Print or
electronic information distributed about the non-continuing nursing education
elements of a continuing nursing education activity that are not directly
related to the transfer of education to the learner, such as schedules and
content descriptions, may include product promotion material or
product-specific advertisement.
(d)
A provider shall
not use an entity with a commercial interest as the agent providing a
continuing nursing education activity to learners, e.g., distribution of
self-study continuing nursing education activities or arranging for electronic
access to continuing nursing education activities.
(7)
The content or
format of a continuing nursing education activity or its related materials must
promote improvements or quality in health care and not a specific proprietary
business interest of an entity with a commercial interest.
Presentations must give a balanced view
of therapeutic options. Use of generic names will contribute to this
impartiality. If the continuing nursing education educational material or
content includes trade names, when available, trade names from several
companies should be used, not just trade names from a single
company.
(8)
Relevant financial relationships of those with control
over continuing nursing education content. Disclosure of information about
provider and faculty relationships must be disclosed in writing to participants
in a continuing nursing education activity.
(D)
The university of
Toledo (provider) is responsible for ensuring that learners are aware of any
relevant financial relationship(s), to include the name of the individual; the
name of the commercial interest(s), and the nature of the relationship the
person has with each commercial interest.
(1)
For an individual
with no relevant financial relationship(s), the learners must be informed that
no relevant financial relationship(s) exist.
(2)
The provider's
acknowledgment of commercial support may state the name, mission, and areas of
clinical involvement of the company or institution and may include corporate
logos and slogans, if they are not product-promotional in nature.
(a)
The source of all
support from entities with commercial interests must be disclosed to learners.
When commercial support is other than monetary support, the nature of the
support must be disclosed to learners.
(b)
"Disclosure" must
never include the use of a trade name or a product-group
message.
(3)
A provider must disclose the above information to
learners prior to or at the time of the beginning of the educational
activity.
*For full details of the regulated
standards for commercial support go the ACCME website at
http://www.accme.org/requirements/accreditation-requirements-cme-providers/standards-for-commercial-support