Joint Providership FAQ

As defined by the ACCME, Joint providership is when two organizations, an accredited provider and a non-accredited provider jointly develop and implement an accredited activity. The accredited provider (CME Outfitters) assumes responsibility for any CE activity when it is presented in cooperation with a non-accredited institution or organization. An ACCME-defined ineligible company (commercial interest) cannot take the role of the non-accredited entity in a joint provider relationship.

Joint providership gives accredited organizations as well as nonaccredited organizations to enhance the diversity and value of their educational offerings. We cannot partner with ineligible companies, that is those organizations that are not eligible to offer continuing education. See below: ‘What are ineligible companies/commercial interests?’

CME Outfitters offers a broad range of services to enhance your educational goals.  Since no two educational initiatives are the same, CME Outfitters will personalize every proposal for each client based on their needs. Please contact CMEO Joint Providership (JointProvidership@CMEOutfltters.com) to discuss your vision for educational activities and the services CME Outfitters may provide.

No! Unlike other providers, CME Outfitters does not charge a per participant fee. You will not see an additional bill if you have higher attendance than expected. We’ll be cheering for your success, not charging you for it.

Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™ offers organizations the opportunity to be simultaneously accredited to provide continuing education activities for multiple professions through a single, unified application process, fee structure, and set of accreditation standards. Jointly accredited providers may choose to award single profession or interprofessional continuing education credit (IPCE) to athletic trainers, dentists, dietitians, nurses, optometrists, PAs, pharmacists, physicians, psychologists, and social workers without needing to obtain separate accreditations. Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™ is the first and only process in the world offering this benefit.

Interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) is when members from two or more professions learn with, from, and about each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes (ACCME, ACPE, ANCC 2015).

Continuing education activities for healthcare professionals serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships clinicians use to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession. Continuing education for healthcare professional represents that body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the professions as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of healthcare to the public. Formats may include but are not limited to the following:

• Medical meetings (Live, In-person or Live, Virtual)
• Online Activities such as Webinars/Webcasts, or Podcasts
• Peer-reviewed journal articles or White papers
• Simulations
• Technical or Skills-based training
• Communications (eg, shared decision-making)

CME Outfitters offers credit through the following accrediting bodies:

• Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
• American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
• American Academy of PAs (AAPA)
• American Dental Association’s Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP) American Psychological Association (APA)
• Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry’s Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (ARBO/COPE)
• Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
• Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC)
• Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)

If you don’t see a profession you would like to involve in your activity, just ask! CME Outfitters may be able to include CE for that profession on a case by case basis.

Per Joint Accreditation and our other accrediting bodies: 60 minutes equals one (1) hour of CE credit. Credits can be divided into fifteen (15) minute increments (.25, .50, .75). Credit is rounded down to the nearest 15-minute increment. Note: Behavioral health activities must meet a one-hour, 1.0 credit minimum. Each activity will offer the same credit amount for all professions identified as the target audience.

Yes! AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ may be awarded to any physician (defined by the AMA as MDs, DOs, or international physicians with equivalent degrees from other countries). The requirements for awarding AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ to US and non-US licensed physicians are the same.

No. Non-physician healthcare professionals and other participants cannot be awarded AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. However, CME Outfitters will issue a certificate of participation stating that the activity was certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and/or Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit.

Note: any professional may present this certificate of participation as evidence of completing a continuing education activity. It is up to the licensing board whether or not it meets its requirements.

The Standards of Integrity and Independence for Accredited Continuing Education requires CE providers (i.e., CME Outfltters) to require everyone who is in any position to control the content of an educational activity to disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible companies (formerly known as commercial interests) in order to prevent any introduction of commercial bias in the educational content.

No. Pharmaceutical and device sales representatives or any representative of medical product/device manufacturers cannot pay directly for food. They can, however, provide an educational grant to your organization in support of the food costs. A signed letter of agreement (LOA) between the company, CME Outfitters, and the non-accredited joint provider must be signed prior to the start of the activity.

No. It is up to the activity medical director and planning committee to select appropriate topics and speakers for their accredited activity based on the target audience’s educational needs.

An ineligible company / commercial interest, as defined by the ACCME, is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical services directly to patients to be an ineligible company or commercial interest. An ineligible company or commercial interest is not eligible for ACCME accreditation directly or via a joint provider relationship. Ineligible companies can be for-profit or non-profit organizations.

Exhibit revenue is completely separate from educational grants (also known as ‘commercial support’. Exhibits are never subject to any condition for the recipient of an educational grant (commercial support). Should an exhibit be requested or any other marketing arrangements, a separate agreement must be entered into with the appropriate party from the commercial interest. A fee will be charged for securing exhibit space, and the fee will be consistent for any exhibitor regardless of the organization’s involvement in the provision of an educational grant for the accredited activity. Exhibits must be kept separate from the accredited activity.

Financial, or in-kind, contributions given by a commercial interest, which is used to pay all or part of the costs of an accredited activity. The definition of roles and requirements when commercial support is received are outlined in the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence.