SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

New Disclosure Test – Step 1

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Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons Policy on Disclosing Financial Relationships with Ineligible Companies (formerly "Commericial Interests") and Managing Conflicts of Interest(Required)
  1. It is the responsibility of persons who serve as planners and faculty for accredited education to do so in an honest and open manner, exercising their best skill and judgment, for the benefit of the participants, who, in turn, seek to improve the care given to their patients.
  2. It is the responsibility of planners and faculty to exercise the utmost good faith in their responsibilities regarding CME-granting activities. Planners and faculty should not use their positions or influence in such a way that a conflict might arise between their personal interests and the delivery of high quality, unbiased CME.
  3. It is recognized that conflicts of interest may arise in many different situations and instances. Any financial relationships with ACCME-defined “ineligible companies” (formerly “commercial interests”) should be disclosed openly and fully. Appropriate means of disclosure include verbal announcements during oral presentations and written statements in abstracts, manuscripts, and syllabus materials. SAGES requires that all individuals involved in the creation of accredited content complete a form listing all financial relationships between themselves and ACCME-defined ineligible companies for the previous 24 months. This information is then reviewed and published in the written materials that accompany CME-granting activities. Non-compliance with this policy by individuals will result in adverse actions for those individuals, up to and including dismissal of the individual from educational activities.
  4. Disclosures will be reviewed by the Conflict of Interest Committee and/or their designees in advance of the SAGES CME activity. The management of conflicts of interest for planners, presenters and faculty is determined by the SAGES Conflict Management Process.
  5. According to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), an ineligible company is those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. They are called “ineligible” because they are not eligible to be accredited in the ACCME system. The ACCME states that an employee/owner of an ineligible company may not serve as a planner or speaker for an accredited CME activity when the topic to be discussed is relevant to the products or services of that commercial interest. The SAGES Conflict of Interest Committee (CIC) and the SAGES Executive Committee have determined that no employees/owners of an ineligible company may be appointed to SAGES Committees or to the SAGES Board. Additionally, no employees/owners of an ineligible company may serve in a position of control of content in SAGES CME-granting activities. This policy is applicable to planners, invited faculty, abstract presenters, and poster authors (if posters are approved for CME). SAGES may consider an individual exception as long as it meets the ACCME’s three special-use case exceptions.
  6. SAGES members who are full time employees or owners of “eligible companies”, as defined by the ACCME, may: (1) serve as planners, presenters or faculty for CME-granting SAGES activities, following the standard SAGES COI Committee policies and procedures; (2) be considered for appointment to selected SAGES Committees, at the discretion of the SAGES Executive Committee, and with the expectation that she/he (as with all Committee members) will recuse themselves from discussions and voting as appropriate; and (3) be considered for service on the SAGES Board, at the discretion of the SAGES Executive Committee and Nominating Committee, and with the expectation that she/he (as with all Board members) will recuse themselves from discussions and voting as appropriate.
  7. When an unlabeled use of a commercial product, or an investigational use not yet approved by the FDA for that marketing claim, is discussed during a CME-granting educational activity, SAGES requires that the speaker disclose that information.
  8. Presentations in CME-granting activities must give a balanced, evidence-based view of therapeutic options. Use of generic names is preferred. If trade names are used, those of several companies should be used rather than only that of a single supporting company.
  9. Recommendations for clinical practice in CME-granting activities should be based on the best-available scientific evidence from studies which conform to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
  10. Faculty and speakers should not receive payments from ineligible companies (formerly “commercial interests”) to participate in CME-granting educational activities.
  11. By agreeing to present at the SAGES Annual Meeting, I grant a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, revocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, and display my presentation in connection with SAGES’s operation of the SAGES website/portal, and for no other reason. All right, title and interest in and to the media is owned by Licensor.
Please review your financial relationships on the Open Payments Database (OPD) then check the box below.
https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov
I have reviewed the Open Payments Database for any entries(Required)

As a provider accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), SAGES must ensure balance and independence in all of its accredited educational activities.

**NEW** The ACCME expects individuals involved with CME to disclose ALL financial relationships with ineligible company in the past 24 months. An ineligible company is defined by the ACCME as:

“those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.”

Examples of such organizations include:

  • Advertising, marketing, or communication firms whose clients are ineligible companies
  • Bio-medical startups that have begun a governmental regulatory approval process
  • Compounding pharmacies that manufacture proprietary compounds
  • Device manufacturers or distributors
  • Diagnostic labs that sell proprietary products
  • Growers, distributors, manufacturers or sellers of medical foods and dietary supplements
  • Manufacturers of health-related wearable products
  • Pharmaceutical companies or distributors
  • Pharmacy benefit managers
  • Reagent manufacturers or sellers

The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be ineligible companies. There is no minimum threshold; we ask that you disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies. You no longer need to disclose for your spouse/partner.

Please indicate if you have any relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. If you answer "Yes" to the below, we will need to collect the company information on the next step.

Do you have a financial relationship with an ineligible company?(Required)