As an ACCME and ACPE-accredited provider, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (GW SMHS) may enter into a joint providership relationship with affiliated hospital clinicians, regional and national medical specialty societies, nonprofit organizations, and other external organizations to enhance the diversity and value of our educational offerings.
Policy
GW SMHS is committed to ensuring that its accredited continuing education activities:
- Presents learners with only accurate, balanced, scientifically justified recommendations
- Protects learners from promotion, marketing, and commercial bias
Therefore, GW SMHS makes every effort to ensure that we will only collaborate with organizations that:
- Provide clinical services directly to patients
- Educate healthcare professionals
- Serving as fiduciary to patients, the public, or population health
- Are not otherwise ineligible
Examples of Eligible Organizations:
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Ambulatory procedure centers
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Blood banks
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Diagnostic labs that do not sell proprietary products
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Electronic health records companies
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Government or military agencies
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Group medical practices
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Health law firms
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Health profession membership organizations
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Hospitals or healthcare delivery systems
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Infusion centers
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Insurance or managed care companies
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Nursing homes
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Pharmacies that do not manufacture proprietary compounds
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Publishing or education companies
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Rehabilitation centers
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Schools of medicine or health science universities
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Software or game developers
Ineligible Companies/Organizations
GW SMHS will not collaborate with any companies/organizations whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Examples of Ineligible Companies/Organizations:
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Advertising, marketing, or communication firms whose clients are ineligible companies
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Bio-medical startups that have begun a governmental regulatory approval process
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Compounding pharmacies that manufacture proprietary compounds
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Device manufacturers or distributors
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Diagnostic labs that sell proprietary products
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Growers, distributors, manufacturers or sellers of medical foods and dietary supplements
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Manufacturers of health-related wearable products
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Pharmaceutical companies or distributors
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Pharmacy benefit managers
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Reagent manufacturers or sellers
Owners and Employees of Ineligible Companies
Owners and employees of ineligible companies are considered to have unresolvable financial relationships and are prohibited from being involved in any aspect of the planning, delivery, or evaluation of accredited continuing education activities. And must therefore be excluded from participating as planners or faculty except in very limited circumstances.
Owners and employees are individuals who have a legal duty to act in the company's best interests.
- Owners - are defined as individuals who have an ownership interest in a company, except for stockholders of publicly traded companies, or holders of shares through a pension or mutual fund.
- Employees - are defined as individuals hired to work for another person or business (the employer) for compensation and who are subject to the employer's direction as to the details of how to perform the job.
Parent Companies
GW will not collaborate with any subsidiaries of an ineligible parent company regardless of steps taken to firewall the subsidiaries. If an eligible parent company has an ineligible subsidiary, the owners and employees of the ineligible subsidiary must be excluded from any involvement in the accredited continuing education except in limited circumstances.