“At the end of the pilot, we expect to go forward with the vetting system as a permanent structure, at which time assessments will no longer be recommendations, but binding decisions applicable to all Eucomed Corporate Members and members of National Industry Associations.”
In short
As recently as January we were reporting on Eucomed’s plans to introduce a conference vetting programme, intended to provide businesses with a sort of green light to provide sponsorship and support for meetings that were deemed to be compliant with medtech industry body Eucomed’s code of practice.
Now, as planned, the independent Compliance Panel of Eucomed has launched the system in a 6 month pilot and will start to review and approve third-party educational conferences in accordance with the Eucomed Code of Ethical Business Practice.
The platform is available now here.
Background
Eucomed holds the view that sponsorship by industry of medical education conferences is fundamental to the relationship between healthcare professionals and the medical technology industry and is a driver of the dialogue and innovation that improve patient access to the latest technology.
Under this new initiative, the Eucomed Code of Ethical Business Practice provides a form of approval for Eucomed’s Corporate Members and members of National Industry Associations to sponsor third-party educational conferences provided that the conferences comply with the Eucomed Code. The approval will be non-binding during the pilot period, but is expected to become binding on members thereafter.
Eucomed states that it is critical that sponsoring is conducted in the most ethical, consistent and transparent manner. The conference vetting system will therefore serve as a centralised decision-making mechanism, aimed at encouraging transparency and consistency in European conference compliance determinations and alleviating the complex administrative burden previously faced by Eucomed members who were forced to make their own determinations.
The system assesses conferences in the geographic area covered by Eucomed’s members and associate members (currently the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey and the Middle East).
You can submit conferences now
The conference vetting system platform is online and is now accepting conference vetting submissions from the Eucomed membership (Corporate Members, National Industry Associations, Associate Members) and conference organisers. Visitors will find details on the criteria which will be used to assess conferences as well as the role of the Compliance Officer who manages the system and reports to the independent Compliance Panel. The platform’s calendar tool provides users with an overview of upcoming conferences along with the results of the assessments.
Eucomed comments
“We are extremely pleased to launch the pilot phase of the conference vetting system which will ultimately become the first compulsory system of its kind”, says Compliance Panel Chairman John McLoughlin. “Before we finalise the system, we are launching it in a pilot phase which is expected to last six months. We will use this time to review the system’s practical aspects in order to ensure optimal efficiency and ease of use. At the end of the pilot, we expect to go forward with the vetting system as a permanent structure, at which time assessments will no longer be recommendations, but binding decisions applicable to all Eucomed Corporate Members and members of National Industry Associations. We may also open the system to additional interested parties and extend our geographic scope.”
Source: Eucomed
published: March 21, 2012 in: Companies, Congresses and Meetings, News