Requirements for Enduring Materials

Enduring materials best suit content that motivates learners to pay attention and retain knowledge independently. They have their greatest effect when integrated with mechanisms to use and meaningfully test what they teach. For example, you might create a video as an enduring material to teach a procedure a physician will implement as part of a Performance Improvement activity.

Enduring materials must incorporate an assessment that measures how well the learner achieves of the educational objective(s) of the activity and sets an established minimum performance level; examples include, but are not limited to, patient-management case studies, a post-test, and simulations where the learner applies new concepts.

For CME activities including those in which the learner participates electronically (e.g., via Internet, CD-ROM or satellite broadcast), all required ACCME information must be transmitted to the learner prior to the learner beginning the CME activity (also see ACCME’s policies regarding disclosure in the Standards for Commercial Support).

The provider must communicate the following information to participants so they have it prior to starting the educational activity:

• Learning objective(s)
• Principal faculty and their credentials
• Medium or combination of media used
• Method of participation in the learning process
• Estimated amount of time to complete the activity (same as number of designated credits in hours)
• Dates of original release and most recent review or update
• Date the enduring material’s certification for credit will expire
  
• Disclosure summary for all planners and speakers
• Accreditation statements

Internet activities must also comply with the following:

• Activity (or link to activity) may not be located on a pharmaceutical or device manufacturer website
• Advertising of any type is prohibited within the educational content of the activity
• Links from the provider website to a pharmaceutical company or device manufacturer may appear either before or after the educational content and must clearly notify participants they are leaving the activity
• Hardware and software requirements must be listed at the beginning of the activity
• There must be a mechanism in place for the learner to contact the provider with questions about the activity
• The provider must adhere to and inform the participants of their policy on confidentiality that relates to internet CME activities
• The provider must demonstrate they own the copyright on or have permission to use any copyrighted materials within the activity

When you generate an enduring material from a live activity—recording a grand rounds presentation, for example—ACCME considers this to be two separate CME activities. You will need to file duplicate copies of forms such as Commitment to Valid Content forms and Speaker Checklists, but these can generally be identical to the ones you have prepared for the live activity.