Pharmaceutical companies outsource a wide variety of functions, resulting in an increasing number of associated industries. These other companies provide such services as manufacturing, packaging, contract sales force creation, and product distribution. Medical Education is one such industry that often relies on physician expertise. Medical Education, as it pertains to the pharmaceutical industry, is generally divided into CME and non-CME (sometimes referred to as “promotional”).
CME work is generally funded by grants from a pharmaceutical company to a physician, group of physicians, or academic center. The content of the meeting or written materials is focused on a disease state or treatment issue and addressed in a “fair balanced” program that is not specific to a product or restricted to “in-label” use. The medical education company works with the faculty or authors to facilitate the completion of the project. CME guidelines are established and governed by the ACCME.
In contrast, non-CME medical education is a collaborative effort between the medical education company and the medical and/or marketing team at the pharmaceutical company. Outside physicians, often therapeutic area thought leaders, may be involved in the development of projects as well. All content must remain “in-label” according to the product prescribing information as determined and governed by the FDA.
Regulatory guidelines are creating several trends in this area. More pharmaceutical companies are now requiring Medical Education companies to choose between providing either CME or non-CME services. As a result, the trend is that many companies (or divisions within larger companies) are solely dedicated to one or the other.
As the number of companies within the Medical Education industry continues to rise, the demand for medical expertise has risen exponentially, thereby opening more positions for physicians. “Medical Director” positions, for example, are increasingly common in this industry.
In non-CME work the medical director is responsible for understanding the scientific information regarding a client’s product and competitive products. The medical director has interaction with the internal and pharmaceutical client teams and the faculty involved on projects. The medical director is often involved in developing and implementing the strategy for the product, and is generally responsible for the quality of content either by directly writing or supervising a medical writer in the development of slides or text.
In CME the medical directors work with their internal company team as well as the faculty and authors, providing additional medical insight and coordinating efforts.
The projects in which a medical director may be involved vary widely. Symposia, which are generally done as a satellite event at the location of a national society congress, are usually CME format. Other meetings, such as speaker training events, dinner meetings, teleconferences, round table events, and debate forums may be done in a CME or non-CME format. Slide content and printed materials done in conjunction with such meetings follow suit with regard to their CME or non-CME content designation. Projects separate from live events can be done in a CME or non-CME format and include website content, CD ROMS, and various printed materials.
Physicians interested in learning more about this type of work should look into companies reporting expertise in medical communications, medical education, and medical advertising.
