Independent Medical Education

Independent Medical Education

Optimer Pharmaceuticals® will consider unrestricted grant requests that either improve patient care or provide valuable information to the medical or scientific community.

Policy

To be considered for funding, grant requests must be in compliance with the following guidelines and guidance:

  • Office of Inspector General (OIG) Compliance Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
  • Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support of Educational Programs
  • Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Guidance on Industry Supported Scientific and Educational Activities
  • American Medical Association (AMA) Guidelines on Continuing Medical Education

The purpose for the grant must be designated in a formal letter of request and that designated purpose is the only one for which the grant funds may be used. Grant requests must demonstrate the ability to meet unmet educational needs of the target audience or encourage the improvement of patient outcomes. Optimer® will not have control over the content of programs.

Examples of appropriate grant opportunities may include:

  • Healthcare professional education (priority will be given to accredited programs)
  • Grand Rounds
  • Sponsorships
  • Patient advocacy and consumer education (e.g., disease-state education and awareness)
  • Symposia/satellite symposia
  • Seminars/presentations
  • Interactive programs (e.g., Internet, CD-ROMS)
  • Accredited CME and non accredited CME programs (certified will be given priority)

Grant requests will not be considered if they are for:

  • Retroactive support, including enduring materials
  • Travel, lodging, or registration expenses for non-faculty healthcare professionals to attend an educational program
  • Individuals, individual scholarships, and individual travel support
  • Government agencies, employees and contractors
  • General education funds (i.e., must be a specific program/event)
  • Political purposes
  • Religious purposes
  • Initiatives that pose a conflict of interest with the commercial or development goals of Optimer
  • Exhibit and display fees
  • Stand alone entertainment or social events
  • Capital campaigns/building funds
  • Website development not associated with an accredited educational program
  • Textbooks and journal subscriptions
  • General capital or operating expenses (e.g., office equipment/staff, computer hardware/software medical library resources, etc.)
  • Influencing, developing a relationship with, or rewarding any grant recipient, individual or entity with respect to the purchase, prescription, recommendation or formulary placement of any Optimer product or service.
  • Promoting an Optimer product or service
  • Paying for travel, housing expenses, entertainment, recreational expenses or time spent for attendees at educational events. The exceptions are medical students, residents, or fellows in which the grant permits individuals selected by the academic or training institution receiving the grant to attend major educational, scientific, or policy-making meetings of national, regional, or specialty medical associations. The individuals are not attending the event solely for the purpose of making or attending presentations relating to Optimer products and presentations relating to Optimer products are not the only presentations at the event. Optimer has no direct or indirect role in the selection of the attendees.

Criteria and considerations for awarding grants include the following:

  • Availability of funds
  • Activity demonstrates ability to satisfy unmet educational needs
  • Promotes excellence in patient care
  • Meets accreditors' guidelines related to content, venue, etc.
  • Meeting format is efficient and effective for the target audience
  • Activity's needs assessment is well-developed, current, and clearly identifies the relevant educational gaps. On large scale events, such as CME, it references document sources and reflects current clinical issues
  • The activity's learning objectives are clearly defined, realistic and aligned with the needs assessment. The learning objectives should also be measurable and optimally, tied to outcomes measurements
  • Alignment with Optimer’s areas of educational interest
  • Budget provided with line item details
  • Ability to educate the broadest target audience in an appropriate / cost effective manner
  • Agenda has sufficient details and is consistent with the learning objectives of the activity
  • The activity is scientifically rigorous, balanced and unbiased
  • Target audience is identified
  • All prerequisite forms are complete, incomplete requests will be rejected
  • Provider has a reputation for presenting effective, scientifically-rigorous and accurate activities in the relevant therapeutic area. Provider's past activities have been well-executed, well-attended by the target audience and have been highly rated by participants
  • Provider has a documented history of compliance with industry standards (ACCME, OIG, PhRMA, etc.)

Eligible Organizations

  • Not for profit associations, foundations, and professional societies whose mission includes public health education
  • Providers of medical or scientific education
  • Hospitals and academic institutions whose mission includes public health education
  • Other qualified entities that engage in public health education and that may be approved on a case-by-case basis

Prohibited Organizations

  • Any individual
  • Any physician or physician practice or group or affiliate thereof
  • Applicants who have received past grant funding and have not provided required budget reconciliation or have not returned unused funds for a program
  • Debarred institutions or groups, including organizations or their employees on probation with the ACCME, or on the OIG exclusion list; faculty debarred from a federal healthcare program or on the OIG exclusion list

Grant Application Process

Grant requests must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the project/program start date. The following documents are required to submit your application:

  • W-9
  • Request letter to include:
    • Description of program/project
    • Overview of objectives
    • Amount of Request
  • Budget for program/project
  • Needs assessment summary
  • Learning objectives for program/project
  • Agenda for program/project

Apply for Grant

  • Grants will be reviewed by the Independent Medical Education Grants Review Committee within 45 days after receipt of a complete grants package
  • A letter advising ability or inability to support and the amount approved will be issued within two weeks after the Grant Review Committee has met
  • A letter of agreement (LOA) will be executed once a grant application is approved. The organization must agree to the terms of the LOA before funding is distributed. All grants must abide by the terms in the Optimer Letter of Agreement (LOA)

Contact Us

Questions regarding the status of a grant request should be directed to GrantRequest@optimerpharma.com