The Ultimate Guide To ACCME Joint Providership

What Is Joint Providership In CME?

Joint providership in Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a collaborative approach that bridges the expertise of accredited physicians and nurses with non-accredited entities in the development and delivery of CME courses.

This partnership enables a non-accredited organization, such as a medical society or educational company, to create an accredited CME course with the support of an accredited body. 

The accredited partner oversees the quality of the content and compliance with the strict standards of accredited education required by the ACCME. 

Adherence to the appropriate accreditation statement and rules, including transparent disclosure and management of any potential conflicts of interest, is key to this collaboration, as it ensures the integrity and value of the educational content.

What Is The Difference Between Direct Providership and Joint Providership?

In CME, direct providership involves activities wholly managed by an accredited provider, including planning, implementation, and evaluation. 

This also encompasses co-provided activities shared between two accredited entities. On the other hand, joint providership is a collaboration where an accredited provider teams up with a non-accredited entity to deliver educational content, sharing responsibilities across the planning and execution phases. 

It can be confusing to keep the differences between direct providership and joint providership straight, so here is a table that outlines some of the major differences between these two models. 

ACCME Accreditation vs Joint Accreditation vs Joint Providership

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Who Is Eligible To Engage In Joint Providership?

The ACCME establishes strict guidelines for joint providership to ensure that there is no commercial bias or other conflicts in the educational process and that participants receive the best experience possible. 

Accredited providers can engage in joint providership if they hold "Provisional Accreditation" for two years, "Accreditation" for four years, or "Accreditation with Commendation" for six years. 

In a joint providership, the accredited provider must demonstrate compliance with these standards, taking full responsibility for the CME activity's integrity and educational value. 

This includes ensuring that all aspects of the activity, from content creation to delivery, align with ACCME's expectations, thereby the accreditation council maintaining the trust and reliability of the accredited continuing education offered.

However, if an ACCME-accredited provider is placed on "Probation," they're restricted from initiating new joint CME activities with non-accredited entities, except for ongoing projects agreed upon before the probation. 

Tips To Plan & Implement CME Activities Through Joint Providership

In joint providership, accredited providers can partner with non-accredited organizations to collaboratively plan and execute CME activities. 

This collaboration allows for shared responsibilities, including identifying CME needs, setting educational objectives, choosing and presenting content, selecting those in control of content, determining educational methods, and evaluating the activities. 

Here are some quick tips to keep in mind as you prepare and implement CME activities through a joint providership: 

• Identification of CME needs: Collaboratively analyze gaps in knowledge, competence, or performance among healthcare professionals to tailor your CME activity to address these specific educational needs.

• Determination of educational objectives: Clearly define what participants should learn or achieve by the end of the CME activity, ensuring these objectives are measurable and aligned with identified needs.

• Selection and presentation of content: Choose current, evidence-based, and relevant content to the audience. Ensure the presentation methods are engaging and conducive to learning.

• Selection of persons/organizations to control content: Carefully choose individuals and organizations with the necessary expertise and integrity to oversee the content, avoiding potential conflicts of interest.

• Selection of educational methods and evaluation: Utilize interactive and effective educational methods suited to the content and audience. Implement a robust evaluation process to assess the activity's impact on learner competence and performance.

Planning and implementing CME activities through joint providership takes work and commitment, but the results are sure to deliver lots of value for everyone involved! 

How BeaconLive Can Support Your Joint Providership Activities

BeaconLive collaborates with The Tennessee Medical Association (TMA), an esteemed ACCME-accredited provider, to offer joint providership accreditation, facilitating the delivery of accredited CME programs. 

TMA handles the application, ensuring compliance, while BeaconLive supports the operational aspects, like attendee tracking and certificate distribution. They ensure all speakers and content creators adhere to transparency through financial disclosure forms. 

BeaconLive integrates necessary disclosure slides into its system, ensuring all sessions begin with essential compliance information right in our CME platform. 

This partnership allows for the accreditation of up to five related courses, streamlining the accreditation process for both enduring and live CME activities, with varying validity periods based on the delivery format, thereby providing a comprehensive solution for both CME activity accreditation and delivery.