Developed by the Alliance and the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME) in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the newly updated National Faculty Education Initiative (NFEI) is our way of helping you and your faculty understand and navigate the fine line between certified continuing medical education (CME) and FDA-regulated promotional activities.

NFEI is a 45-minute online educational course offered to the CE community and geared towards faculty interested in presenting at events where CME credits are offered.

Faculty that complete the course are added to the NFEI Verification Database available exclusively to Alliance members, confirming the faculty's commitment to providing quality learning experiences in compliance with clearly defined and robust professional standards. Not an Alliance member? Join today!

To further increase the value of the NFEI tool for you, we have made exciting updates, including:

• Restructured layout for an improved user experience and easier to navigate curriculum;
• Additional resources relating to the Physician Payments Sunshine Act for faculty to gain advanced knowledge on the current healthcare landscape;
• Updated case studies and assessment at the end of the course to demonstrate and reinforce the distinctions between CME and promotional activities.

What is the Initiative?

The initiative includes

1. an online educational activity on the differences between certified CME and promotional activities and
2. a verification database.

Who is the Educational Activity for?

The initiative includes 1) an online educational activity on the differences between certified CME and promotional activities and 2) a verification database.

Why is this important?

Voluntary codes about commercial influence on healthcare providers require this type of voluntary self-regulation and training to protect invited medical education faculty, their institutions, the accredited organizations responsible for certified CME, the commercial interests providing promotional programs, and ultimately the public.

Who developed the content?

The Initiative is staffed by the Alliance and the content was developed by a broad representation of authors from the field of CME who include:

• Jann Balmer, PhD, University of Virginia,
• Lois Colburn, University of Nebraska,
• David Davis, MD, Association of American Medical Colleges,
• Beverly Hughes, University of South Florida,
• Melissa Newcomb, MBA, University of Rochester,
• Mark Schaffer, EdM, Professional Postgraduate Services,
• Deborah Sutherland, PhD, University of South Florida, and
• Walt Wolyniec, MS, formerly of Boehringer Ingelheim.

Who is listed in the database?

Any medical education faculty who completes the 45 minute online activity will have their name added to the National Faculty Education Initiative verification database. Inclusion in the verification database assures the CME provider, and the commercial interest providing promotional activities, of a faculty member’s integrity in teaching excellence and providing quality learning experiences that are in compliance with appropriate regulations, guidelines, and professional standards and, ultimately, improve patient care.

How should one use the database?

The database should be used to verify that faculty you plan to invite are trained in these differences and knowledgeable of the multiple sets of rules that govern speaker accountability when presenting in each environment.

Who should search the database?

The database is helpful for CME providers and commercial interests providing promotional activities.