Benefits of EACCME® accreditation
What is the added value of UEMS-EACCME® accreditation?
All applications submitted to the EACCME® for accreditation are reviewed according to very high-quality criteria and by medical specialists active in the field.
Accreditation by the EACCME® therefore means that the CME/CPD activity provided is of high scientific value, is free of commercial bias and promotes active adult learning.
This is of paramount importance to doctors who need to report to their National Accreditation Authority (NAA) on their CME/CPD activity over a certain period of time, and this even more now that many national systems are (becoming) mandatory and not voluntary.
As all EACCME® accredited events are published on the EACCME® platform, doctors can easily find an EACCME® accredited event to attend according to their field of interest.
By attending an EACCME® accredited event, they will be able to obtain European CME credits (ECMEC®) which are recognised not only in a majority of European countries (with which the EACCME® has signed agreements), but also in the USA and Canada. By handing in their EACCME® certificate to their National Accreditation Authority, their credits will automatically be recognised and converted into national credits.
EACCME® accreditation is widely recognised and attracts many international participants and learners.
Accreditation versus recognition
CPD/CME activities get recognised when the standard pathway of EACCME® accreditation is not followed but the activity has widely recognised educational and/or CPD value (i.e. publication in a peer review journal with an established and recognized editorial process) and the medical specialist has decided to obtain CPD/CME credits for an activity that has been certified for high quality in a process other than CPD/CME accreditation (i.e. peer review of an article, acceptance of the lecture/paper for presentation at an accredited CPD/CME event etc.).
Accreditation
The
EACCME®
accredits the following activities:
Live educational events
A live physical/virtual/hybrid meeting or webinar
E-learning materials
Online content available on demand.
Blended learning
An educational programme that combines LEE and ELM
components.
Recognition
The EACCME® recognizes the following activities:
Reviewing scientific and educational material (REV)
Activities performed within the scope of editorial procedures for journals indexed in PubMed.
Publishing scientific and educational material (PUB)
Authoring publications in journals indexed in
PubMed.
Learning by Teaching (LbT)
Faculty presentation/participation during the main scientific programme of an EACCME® accredited event.
Reading scientific and educational material
(READ)
Reading peer-reviewed articles in journals indexed in PubMed with completion of an assessment component.
Writing Multiple Choice Question
Individual taking part in MCQ writing for examination organized by a UEMS Section.
EACCME® general principles
The UEMS-EACCME® provides accreditation for medical education of the highest quality, thus supporting the best and most up-to-date patient care in Europe. In order to guarantee this high-level education, the EACCME® has set the following principles:
1. Commercial influence and bias
- The education provided must be free of any commercial influence or bias;
- The education provided must be free of any form of advertising;
- Educational sponsorship must be provided through an unrestricted educational sponsorship;
- Educational materials provided entirely by a pharmaceutical or medical equipment industry will not be considered for accreditation;
- As a general principle, all scientific content of an activity must be clearly separated from commercial component.
2. Educational needs and learning objectives
- A needs assessment has to be performed prior to the educational material;
- Learning needs and educational outcomes have to be defined.
3. Conflict of interest and resolution of conflict of interest
- Potential or actual conflicts of interest will need to be disclosed by the Organising/Scientific Committee and the faculty;
- Any actual conflict of interest will need to be resolved prior to the educational material.
4. Learners’ engagement and feedback
- Learners’ attendance will need to be monitored;
- Learners are expected to provide feedback on the educational material;
- The provider must submit an event report based on the learners’ feedback.
5. Quality control
The UEMS-EACCME® will randomly perform quality controls of any type of accredited events to ensure compliance with EACCME® accreditation criteria. The provider will need to provide free unaccompanied access to the entire event to any EACCME® appointed official.
6. Other healthcare professionals
The EACCME® will consider supporting accreditation for other healthcare professionals (other than medical specialists) in collaboration with their relevant professional bodies.
Who is eligible to apply for CME accreditation?
The EACCME® considers for accreditation events submitted by a physician organisation such as:
- an individual medical specialist;
- a university or hospital department;
- a scientific medical society;
- a national medical association;
Applications by other types of
providers will be considered on a case by case basis.
As long as the application is supported by an appropriate medical specialist in activity who will take responsibility for the application. This person must be registered with his/her National Regulatory Authority.
For any other types of providers, it is possible to co-develop an event: co-development is when two or more organizations, at least one of which must be a physician organisation, work together to develop a CME/CPD activity to be accredited.
Examples of organisations that must co-develop a CME/CPD activity with a physician organisation:
- A medical communication agency;
- A professional congress organiser (PCO).
Industry Influence
The EACCME® will NOT consider for accreditation events where the content format or faculty is influenced by industry, submitted by industry or where the industry is the CME provider.
Types of organizations that are not considered for accreditation:
- Pharmaceutical companies or their advisory groups;
- Medical/surgical devices companies;
- Medical/surgical software companies;
- Industry.
