BMJ  2008;336:742-743 (5 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39534.514884.DB

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Continuing education should no longer be funded by drug industry, says CMAJ

¹ Quebec

The current system of continuing health education—sponsored largely by an industry with a vested interest in promoting its products—is unacceptable to self regulated health professionals, says the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

The CMAJ editorial says that health professionals should take over medical education and base it on their needs and those of their patients (doi: 10.1503/cmaj.080317).

"It is time to stop the pharma-driven ‘free lunch’ approach and place our continuing medical education system firmly in the hands of unbiased and qualified people, not corporations whose main concern is the bottom line," says the editorial, written by a team under the byline of the journal’s editor in chief, Paul Hébert.

It continues: "To make this vision a reality, we call upon the Canadian Academies of Health Sciences, perhaps involving the US Institute of Medicine, to initiate a dialogue among all stakeholders. Getting thoughtful discussion underway is the first . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Putting our money where our mouths are

Rebecca A. Drayer, et al.
bmj.com, 4 Apr 2008 [Full text]

Who will pay

David J Reinhardt
bmj.com, 5 Apr 2008 [Full text]

Re: Who will pay

Alesa Koziol
bmj.com, 12 Apr 2008 [Full text]

Pyment for CME?

sudarshan kumari
bmj.com, 13 Apr 2008 [Full text]