Planning Non-Recurring Activities

We accept applications for new CME activities throughout the year. Please contact the CME Office at least six months prior to your activity date to begin the planning and application process.

CME Applications are due to the UB CME Director no later than 12 weeks prior to the activity date.

After you contact the CME Office, you will need to submit the following with your CME Activity Planning Application no later than 12 weeks prior to the activity date:

• Agenda
• Planner Declaration Form completed by the physician activity director and educational planning committee members.
• Draft Budget - Must include anticipated income and expenses. Commercial support and advertising support request letters, and unrestricted educational grant applications must be reviewed and approved by the UB CME Director before submission or distribution. The budget must show commercial support, honoraria, and reimbursements that comply with UB policies.
• ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence for accredited education review and agreement attestation

If the activity director has financial relationships with ineligible companies, the departmental CME committee —including at least one member without financial relationships — must assume responsibility for needs assessment, establishing objective(s), content development and speaker selection.

• One-time Live Activities: UB Department Fee is $150
• Enduring Materials: UB Department Fee is $1,000

Fees for Non-UB organizations: Please contact the UB CME Office Director for a fee schedule. Our office will invoice you once your activity is approved.

CME Activity Planning Application: Due 12 weeks prior to the activity date. 

Required with CME Application: Submit a completed Speaker-Planner Declaration Form for the physician Activity Director(s) and all educational planners.

Early in your planning process, your conference planning committee/departmental CME committee must work with the UB CME Director to:

• Review speakers’ relationships with ineligible companies as shown on their Speaker/Planner Declaration Form.
  
• Determine if their relationships may affect the content. If so, decide how to eliminate potential bias in the presentation.
• Complete the “Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships” for each planner, presenter, and all others in control of accredited educational content who has relationships with ineligible companies
• For enduring materials only: review script and interview contents for scientific validity and possible bias

IMPORTANT: Please note that owners and employees of ineligible companies are considered to have unresolvable financial relationships and must be excluded from participating as planners or faculty, except in the limited circumstances outlined in Standard 3.2.2.

If there is a potential for bias in any speaker’s presentation, you will need to address it. For example:

• Preview the content and assess the data on which recommendations are based
• Advise the speaker to change the presentation’s focus, scope or objective of the presentation — e.g., less emphasis on a particular therapy, procedure or drug and more discussion of the pros and cons of alternatives
• Select a different speaker who is unbiased or one whose presentation a trusted UB faculty member heard at a national or significant professional meeting
  

Complete this form if a speaker reports having received financial support from any commercial source within the past 12 months.

Please review the ACCME’s policies regarding disclosure in the:

Prepare notices, calendar postings or announcements (e.g., brochures, posters, ads, websites) that include:

• Program educational objective(s)
• Accreditation Certification Statement provided by the CME Office with approval letter. 

Send the CME Office all announcements for approval prior to publishing or public distribution. Your publicity materials must include the information listed above to satisfy ACCME requirements. See the sample announcement to the right for an example.

When you post announcements to the school calendar, provide full details, including registration and contact information. Participants will need to register with you, not the CME office, to obtain credit.

Companies are considered supporters or grantors — not sponsors. Your activity’s sponsors include the education provider (e.g., your department) and the accredited provider (the CME office).

Submit to the CME Office for all presenters, authors, and others in control of accredited educational content:

• Speaker-Planner Declaration Form
• Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships Form: For individuals who have listed a potential conflict of interest and must be completed by the UB CME Director, Activity Director or a planning committee member who has no financial relationships with ineligible companies within the last 24 months)

Credit will be withdrawn if these forms are not submitted at least four weeks before the program. This time frame will allow you to notify registrants that CME requirements were not met and credit will be unavailable.

Obtain from presenters, authors and all others in control of the accredited educational activity: 

Complete this form if a planner, presenter, or other in control of educational content discloses a financial relationship with an ineligible company within the last 24 months:

These materials must be submitted to our office at least four weeks before the program.

Credit will be withdrawn if this deadline is not met.

Fully Executed Commercial Support Letters of Agreement: Complete and submit a signed Letter of Agreement specifying the terms and conditions of support from each external source (companies, foundations, etc.). The Letter of Agreement must be signed by the:

• Company providing support
• Education provider (e.g., your department)
• Accredited provider (UB CME office)

Commercial supporters may not pay expenses directly. Grants from commercial supporters must be sent directly to the education provider (e.g., your department) or accredited provider (UB CME office).

The nature of enduring materials incurs several specific communication requirements:

This step is only required for planners organizing enduring materials activities. Those who are planning conferences and performance improvement activities can skip this step.

• Provide each registrant with the UB CME Disclosure Summary (provided by the UB CME Director), Credit Claim Instructions and Post-Activity Evaluation Survey Monkey link provided by the CME Office
• Attendance collection
• Encourage participants to evaluate the program (occasional reminders are effective)

Commercial exhibits, if any, must be located in a separate area outside the conference room.

This step is only required for planners organizing a conference. Those who are planning Enduring Materials and Performance Improvement Activities can skip this step.

The Disclosure Summary and UB CME Post-Activity Evaluation Survey Monkey Link  are sent to education providers once the CME office has received all the necessary paperwork.

After the conference has taken place (within 30 days), send the CME Office:

• a set of final presentations and handouts
• participant attendance report
• final budget

Within 30 days after the start of the performance improvement activity, send the CME Office:

• a copy of the final program and announcement
• a set of handouts
• credit claim forms from participants
• evaluation summary report
  
• fully executed letters of agreement
• final budget report

Within 30 days after the start of the performance improvement activity, send the CME Office:

• a copy of the final program and announcement
• a set of handouts
• credit claim forms from participants
• summary of the evaluations
• fully executed letters of agreement
• final budget report

For the duration of the activity, send the CME office the following informationat least quarterly:

• Names and demographics for all participants
• Evaluation results obtained from participants
• Post-test results for all participants (if applicable)

Once an enduring material is approved, it retains accreditation for three years. At the end of this period, you will need to review the content, ensure its currency, and update it if necessary to approve its credit-bearing status for another three years.

The Disclosure Summary and Evaluation Survey Monkey Link are sent to education providers once the CME office has received all the necessary paperwork.