The CME Coalition has issued a new compliance guide, Independent Medical Education (IME) Compliance Guide, for use by accredited CME providers and commercial supporters. The IME compliance guide additionally contains FAQS for non-accredited activities.

On Thursday, January 12, 2022, the Alliance Annual Conference brought our community of health care continuing medical education professionals together both virtually and in Aurora, Colorado.

In conjunction with this event, the CME Coalition held its annual policy reception, where we showcased the Coalition's accomplishments in 2021 and discussed our goals for the year ahead. 

Slides presented during this policy reception can be found below. 

The CME Coalition has submitted public comments on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) reconsideration of mandatory opioid prescriber education through a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) to urge the FDA to consider the full scope and ramifications of implementing such a requirement. While the CME Coalition respects required education, we agree with the vast majority of presenters at the FDA's meeting on this subject who believe that required Opioid REMS is not a workable solution to the opioid crisis.

​On September 21, CME Coalition Senior Advisor Andy Rosenberg presented an update on behalf of the CME Coalition at Inform Connect’s Annual Med Ed & Grants (Virtual) Summit. His presentation slides can be found here. 

​In a letter to Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), the CME Coalition endorsed a bill that would provide new grant funding for CME in rural and underserved areas. Introduced in the Senate on February 2, 2021, the Improving Access to Health Care in Rural and Underserved Areas Act (S. 201) would direct the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award up to 100 grants for providing accredited CME to federally qualified health centers (FQHC) or rural health clinics (RHC). 

​On September 15, 2021, the Continuing Medical Education (CME) Coalition penned a letter of support to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) endorsing the Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021 (H.R. 19). Introduced in the House on April 22, this bill includes a provision that would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to advance education and awareness among health providers regarding biosimilars, including by developing and improving continuing education programs 

​On September 15, 2021, the CME Coalition sent letters of support to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) for the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act of 2021 (S. 2235/H.R. 2067). Introduced in both chambers earlier this year, this legislation would mandate CME for the prescribing of opioids and other controlled substances. It would also provide grant funding for professional associations to expand the integration of substance use disorder (SUD) education into the standard curriculum of health care education programs. 

​On September 15, 2021, the CME Coalition penned letters of support to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Rep. David Trone (D-MD) endorsing the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 3.0 Act of 2021 (S. 987/H.R. 4341). Introduced in both chambers of Congress earlier this year, this measure would require prescribers of controlled substances to complete their CME course work every three years. It would also provide $5 million toward health education and training grants through the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). 

The CME Coalition has submitted public comments on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Opioid Analgesics Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (OA REMS) program to highlight the essential role of continuing medical education (CME) in educating prescribers and other health care providers on the treatment and monitoring of patients with pain. The central component of the OA REMS is a voluntary CME program for all health care providers who are involved in the management of patients with pain, including doctors and others who prescribe these products.