Le besoin d’un Institut de l’éducation continue en santé [The need for an Institute of Continuing Health Education]

Abstract

"At a recent conference on continuing education involving many major US stakeholders and the CMAJ, participants agreed that our current system of continuing professional development is in dire need of a major overhaul. Currently, continuing medical education activities are, for the most part, sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, which has a vested interest in promoting its products. This is big business: of the $2.6 billion spent in the United States on accredited continuing medical education activities in 2006, $1.45 billion (60%) came from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.1 Although there are no reliable data in Canada, there is also no evidence that the situation is any different here."