Jan. 26, 2012 – Avoiding conflict of interest in continuing medical education (CME) may seem like a daunting task, but companies can produce high-quality CME programs that skirt commercial bias if they implement several key strategies, including peer review, according to a recent article in Medical Marketing & Media.

The article describes a newly released video produced by CME Peer Review – “Conflict of Interest: The Bottom Line” – which includes the views of prominent CME stakeholders.

In the video, Coalition for Healthcare Communication Executive Director John Kamp states that “Providers of CME are following the rules. And things are getting better all the time in this area because people are essentially educated.”

The video stresses that peer review is an important tool in both resolving conflict of interest and ensuring high-quality content, the MMM article states.

“Resolution of COI is really pretty easy,” Kamp said. “If someone has a conflict on something they’re speaking about, they disclose it. And we make sure, as much as possible, using peer review and other ways, that

it’s not a biased review or use or suggestion on those drugs,” he added.

To read the full MMM article, go to