Representatives of medical education accreditors in the United States and Europe have developed the first global standards for continuing medical education (CME) and are hoping the one page document will improve the quality of medical education, rein in pharmaceutical companies' influence, and, ultimately, foster the free movement of doctors across borders.

“Free movement is a mark of success, a useful objective,” said Dr Murray Kopelow, who helped develop the new standards and is chief executive officer of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, the United States's main accrediting body for medical education. “Then we can spend energy on teaching and learning, and not on accreditation.”

Dr Kopelow and representatives of the American Medical Association, the European Union of Medical Specialists, and …