CME Disambiguation Glossary: Promotion

In CME, we use the word "promotion" in various ways. Some of our uses of "promotion" are different from those of laypersons. Here are some definitions organized into categories.

A. The Promotion of CME Activities

1. Promotion: Brochure, flyer or website describing speakers and program agenda to promote a CME activity. This promotion must include an accreditation statement, and is often also used to inform learners of learning objectives and commercial supporters.

2. Promotion: Postcard or brief "save-the-date" announcement to alert potential participants in an upcoming CME activity. This does not need to include an accreditation statement.

3. Promotion: The marketing of CME activities developed by medical education communications companies (MECCs) to CME providers. MECCs generally pay providers a fee for sponsorship and/or hosting, and development is funded by commercial supporters.

B. The Promotion of "Commercial Interests" as Defined by ACCME

4. Promotion: The influence of commercial supporters on the content of a CME activity. Strictly verboten.

5. Promotion: The influence of someone's personal financial relationships with commercial interests on the content of a CME activity. Also verboten.

6. Promotion: Acknowledgement of commercial supporters of a CME activity. This is strictly required. Acknowledgement of support might be considered to be type of "promotion" in common usage. However, in CME nomenclature it is considered to be a "disclosure."

7. Promotion: Exhibits by vendors at CME activities or advertisements by commercial interests in ancillary materials related to CME activities. This is allowed, though promotional content needs to be separate from CME content.

8. Promotion: Reception, party, dinner, recreational activity sponsored by a commercial interest to promote their products and services. It's a free country, but these activities shouldn't coincide with or take precedence over a nearby CME activity.

C. The Promotion of Other Business Interests

9. Promotion: Any content that promotes a business interest (including commercial supporters, vendors, and even non-health care-related organizations) that is juxtaposed with any form of CME content (online, printed, live). This includes product brochures in the conference room and "Powered by Company X" on the screen of an online course. Again verboten.

10. Promotion: A CME activity that promotes a health care provider's services or generates referrals. This can happen, but only if it's an indirect consequence of activity planning that is based on documented professional performance gaps. Think of referrals as you would think of money. It is acceptable to make money from a CME activity. However, financial gain cannot be used as the underlying rationale for why the activity was implemented.

11. Promotion: The selling of CME-related products and services (e.g., meeting planning, media production, mail lists, psychometric evaluation) to CME providers. For example, see: "Promotional Opportunities" on the ACME website. At conferences for CME professionals, this type of promotion is separated from educational content as prohibited in Definition 9 above.