AOE Compliance Connection – February 2022 Newsletter

Welcome to the February edition of AOE Compliance Connection, AOE’s monthly newsletter. In this month’s newsletter, we continue our series called “Did You Know?” featuring some helpful FAQs about the new Standards and the new required 30-minute interval between accredited and nonaccredited education. We also give you a sneak peek of AOE’s involvement at SACME’s Virtual Annual Meeting and a look inside the ACCME’s New Strategic Plan for 2022-2026! As ever, AOE works hard to keep you updated on what’s happening in the CE enterprise. One way we do that is by posting compliance tips each week on our social media and webpages – make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook or email us at inquire@aoeconsulting.com with any questions. We want to ensure that 2022 is your most productive year yet!

This month, we continue our series featuring some of the ACCME’s most helpful FAQs. Some of the most helpful information on the ACCME website is tucked into the FAQ section and we’ve been hard at work uncovering some gems of wisdom specific to the new Standards.

We began with questions related to stock ownership and patent holders, continued with a few questions related to the collection of disclosures and the mitigation of relevant financial relationships, and add on this month with three questions targeted to Standard 5 regarding the new requirement of 30-minutes between accredited and non-accredited sessions in the same educational space.

1) Is the 30-minute time interval required regardless of whether the nonaccredited activity takes place before, during, or after the accredited activity?

The short answer is “yes”. This interval is required regardless of whether the nonaccredited activity occurs before, during, after, or even before AND after the accredited activity. The ACCME cites Standard 5.2, stating that “this time interval is required if the nonaccredited activity is either developed by or with an ineligible company, or if individuals with unmitigated, relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies are in control of content”.

2) Does there need to be a 30-minute interval between accredited education and sessions that fit the exceptions listed in Standard 3, i.e., when there is no need to identify, mitigate or disclose relevant financial relationships?

This is the one caveat to the 30-minute interval: When nonaccredited sessions are not controlled by ineligible companies and do not include individuals with unmitigated, relevant financial relationships. In this situation, nonaccredited education or sessions would not need to be separated by the otherwise required interval. The ACCME lists legislative briefings or awards ceremonies as two possible examples of this scenario.

3) Does there need to be a 30-minute interval between accredited and nonaccredited education in virtual activities?

Whether or not an activity takes place live or online, the 30-minute interval is a requirement. Specifically for live, online activities, if learners will remain in the same “virtual space” for both an accredited and nonaccredited activity, the provider is required to provide that 30-minute interval between sessions. In the case, however, of a shift in virtual space – if the learner must take an action such as clicking a link to communicate leaving one space to enter another – the 30-minute interval is no longer required.

Just a few weeks ago, the ACCME released their New Strategic Plan, spanning 2022-2026. The plan can be read in its entirety here, but we’ve included the highlights below.

The plan (officially dubbed The ACCME Strategic Plan 2022-2026: Thriving Together: Accelerate Learning, Change, and Growth in Healthcare) was crafted by a team that included the ACCME Board of Directors, executive leadership, and staff. The team reviewed the current trajectory, noting opportunities and specific challenges, and took the time to interview stakeholders for their perspectives and insight.

The overarching goal of the new plan is to address “these interconnected opportunities and challenges” and attempts to promote “an even more vibrant and thriving accredited continuing education enterprise”.

According to the ACCME, the plan consists of five priority areas:

• Strategic Goal 1: Act with Integrity
• Strategic Goal 2: Advance Excellence in Accredited Continuing Education
• Strategic Goal 3: Provide Exemplary Service
• Strategic Goal 4: Promote Diversity and Inclusion
• Strategic Goal 5: Demonstrate the Power of Collaboration

The ambitious goal aims to ultimately improve the quality of care for the patients and communities served by the medical community by uniting the ACCME staff, leadership, and CE colleagues in leveraging the power of medical education. The plan can be read in its entirety here.