Process for Managing Commercial Support

Process for Managing Commercial Support

An educational activity can seek and obtain commercial support, but there are strict rules governing the role of a commercial supporter in any education event and how that support is applied. The key points to note are:

1. Joint Accreditation defines an ineligible company as any entity "whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care products used on or by patients".
2. All funds from a commercial entity must come through UAB - the terms, conditions, and purposes of commercial support must be documented in a written agreement.
   • The agreement must include the provider (that's UAB CME), even if the support is given directly to the provider's educational partner or joint provider
3. That last part about "...even if the support is given directly to..." - doesn't mean anything here at UAB because our institution will not sign a third party agreement, so all commercial funding must come through UAB.
4. We have an institution-approved letter of agreement (LOA) that we prefer to use for all commercial support agreements; however, many supporters prefer to use their own template
   • Our approved LOA is routed through the office of university contracts. They charge 5% for review and processing.
   • Any non-approved LOA must be reviewed by the office of sponsored programs (OSP). OSP takes a 10% slice of any contract it reviews and processes
5. An individual who is an employee of a commercial entity can only be involved in a CME event under a very limited set of circumstances
6. If you have any doubts about how to deal with commercial support, call us - our accreditors take a very dim view of failure to follow guidelines on commercial support

Let's walk through an example:

You have identified a pharmaceutical or medical device company (i.e., a commercial interest) to provide you with funds to support your educational activity! UAB administration wants to help you accept this support, but in order to comply with all relevant rules, regulations, and guidelines, it must be processed in a very step‐wise fashion. All steps MUST be completed PRIOR to your educational activity taking place. Please use the following questions to help you identify the proper steps:

1) Is your educational activity seeking certification for  credit? If the answer is NO, then we have no further involvement, but you should consult UAB's guidelines for relationships with industry before proceeding.

If the answer is YES, you must ensure that you get a signed LOA between the supporter and UAB. If the supporter requires a grant application to receive the support, complete the grant application, but do NOT submit it. Your application must be reviewed by the office of sponsored Programs (OSP) prior to submission. OSP requires submission of an application for support at least 5 business days prior to the supporter's deadline. You will need to:

1. Fill out an Extramural Checklist
2. Create a three-line UAB budget showing direct, indirect, and total costs, with the indirect costs calculated at the appropriate on-campus or off-campus rate
3. Attach a copy of the grant application.
4. Send the packet to OSP

You may contact OSP for more information.

If the supporter will sign our pre-approved LOA, then you can get it signed on the supporter end and submit it to UAB office of financial affairs. If the supporter requires its own LOA be signed by UAB it must be routed through the Office of Sponsored Programs. 

Once you have a fully executed LOA in hand, having routed it appropriately through UAB channels with signatures from BOTH parties, you may accept the support from the commercial interest. Please note that this support MUST be in the form of a check made payable to UAB. Commercial supporters may NOT pay any of the expenses of a CME-certified activity directly.