Arlyn G. Riskind      
Director, Media Relations     
Phone: (301) 941-0240      
Email: ariskind@endo-society.org

Aaron Lohr
Manager, Media Relations
Phone: (240) 482-1380
Email: alohr@endo-society.org

 Statement from The Endocrine Society

San Diego, CA—The Endocrine Society submitted a written statement from Society President Robert A. Vigersky, MD to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday, June 16, 2010. The comment was reported inaccurately.

Below is the complete and accurate statement that the Society provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The current prevailing interpretation of the ACCME rules is that employment in the pharmaceutical industry is a serious conflict of interest that should preclude investigators from speaking in or influencing the content of CME activities (serving on planning committees). In certain circumstances, scientists from industry may be allowed to talk in CME activities if they are talking about the pathophysiology of a disease, but not if they are presenting on the clinical efficacy of their drug or medical device.

This current interpretation of the ACCME rules does impact our meetings.  We have decided to no longer provide CME credit for any oral/abstract or poster presentation sessions at our meetings because many of these scientific reports do come from industry.

 

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Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest, and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 14,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 80 countries. Together, these members represent all basic, applied, and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Md. To learn more about the Society, and the field of endocrinology, visit our web site at www.endo-society.org.