profession
Pharma funding of CME down 39% since 2007
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 6, 2012
Drugmakers and other medical industry companies continued to scale back their support for accredited continuing medical education in 2011, according to a report released in July.
Commercial support fell by 11.4% to $736 million, and has dropped by nearly 40% from a high of $1.2 billion in 2007, said the Chicago-based Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Industry funds now account for 33% of medical-education providers’ income. Advertising and exhibit income represent 13% of CME funding. Other income sources such as registration fees charged to doctors and subsidies from health care organizations make up the rest, said the report (link).
Experts have cited the sluggish pharmaceutical pipeline, the downbeat economy and heavy criticism of drug marketing as reasons for the drop in industry funding of CME. Accredited education providers’ total income dropped 1.1% from 2010 to 2011.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/08/06/prbf0806.htm.