I agree that the CFPC should not be accrediting CME programs that have a commercial bias. With more than 4000 physicians visiting our site each month to access more than 30 courses, credibility is critical to the continued success of www.mdbriefcase.com.
Medical schools and associations create the content of the courses we offer. All of these courses are accredited by the College. This means they must meet guidelines (available on our home page) set by both the College and the CMA. These guidelines state that CME programs “must meet accepted ethical standards, particularly regarding commercial support.”
Dr. Lexchin submitted his concerns with regard to the program “A hypertensive snow bird” to the CFPC in April 2005. As a result, there was a third-party review of this course by the CFPC. It concluded there was no evidence of commercial bias.
This course has been taken by hundreds of physicians. In the course evaluation, participants are asked, “Was this program free of commercial bias?” Participant rating for this course is 4.87 out of 5 (with a rating of 5 meaning “completely unbiased”).
At mdBriefCase we will continue to provide high-quality online CME programs, created by leading Canadian medical institutions, and following the standards of the College and the CMA.
Competing interests: None declared.