Kari Loeser (Genentech); John Ruggiero (Genentech)
Synopsis
Without a doubt, independent medical education faces many challenges. In light of the increased scrutiny by regulators, Congress, and the public, and overall decreased funding availability by commercial sponsors, support for IME programs is becoming an intense prioritization and allocation exercise. This session will be based on a hypothetical case scenario, designed to help participants understand the impact of zero commercial funding in a disease state.
Abstract
In this workshop, participants will analyze a hypothetical scenario of having zero available funds to support independent medical education in a given disease state. In the case of independent medical education (CME), a zero-sum game occurs because commercial funding for a CME program in Therapeutic Area A reduces the available money for other therapeutic areas. If the funder has a set annual IME budget, spending for one large, multi-format CME curriculum (which, assuming it is a robust and solid CME program) necessarily means there is significantly less remaining to spend on other oncologyrelated CME programs.
The net result of a zero-sum game is that, in a resource-constrained environment, the final decisionmakers need to analyze and assess what is the “best” use of the limited resources, since budget limitations necessarily mean less for everyone.
The format will be an interactive workshop session, focused on a hypothetical case study model of having zero funds for commercial funded CME in a given oncology/tumor type. The case study will also assume that this oncology tumor type is still one in which there are clearly unmet educational needs and practice gaps, but for which, the available treatments and options are at a plateau. Participants will directly engage with the moderator(s) centered on:
1. Discuss the competing factors affecting CME decisions in a budget-constrained funding model for independent medical education
2. Discuss the possible impacts (competence, patient outcomes) of no longer funding CME in a given disease or therapeutic area over time
Declaration
I am employed by Genentech, a member of the Roche group.
