Friday, October 15, 2010

Industry Senior Medical Leaders Panel #cmetaskforce (How Does CME Fit Into the Grand Scheme of Medical Affairs)

Today is the last day of the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. This morning, we had a panel discussion titled, "Industry Senior Medical Leaders Panel: How Does CME Fit Into the Grand Scheme of Medical Affairs?"

Moderator: John Kamp, PhD, JD, Coalition for Healthcare Communication

The panelists included:
  • Paul Chew, MD, Senior Vice President, U.S. Chief Science Officer/Chief Medical Officer, sanofi-aventis
  • Janelle (Jill) Massey, PharmD, MBA, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
  • Nancy Santilli, NP, MSN, FAAN, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
So, what did we talk about?

First, they discussed the value of CME. We need to inform senior executives about the value of CME. This type of information needs to be disseminated through business media such as the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, HBR, etc.

They also discussed REMS. How does REMS fit into CME where industry is not allowed to influence content?  The FDA mandates that REMS information is developed by industry, so how do we bridge this disconnect?

The discussion moved to conflict of interest and the changes that have now occurred as industry withdraws from interacting with health care professionals. This is leading to "innovation strangulation." We should focus on balance interest (instead of COI) and we should focus on patient outcomes and physician performance.

John Kamp asked about ROI. In the world of CME, ROI is not about marketing success. Some may use the phrase ROE or return on education, but the focus is about patient outcomes and physician performance. CME can also focus on the safer use of products to reduce adverse events.

The conversation shifted to health care reform and the role of disease management and adherence. We're missing opportunities if we're not focusing on initiatives that will change patient behavior. Patients need to understand why they need to adhere to therapy because they are the keys to their compliance.

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