Pharmaceutical industry support for continuing medical education programs: a review of current ethical guidelines

Ethical relationships between physicians and the drug industry require guidelines to maintain the integrity of the medical profession. The acceptance of gifts and subsidies for the cost of continuing-medical-education conferences is considered ethically acceptable provided the gifts are of minimal value and that the control of content and the selection of presenters and moderators for industry-supported CME programs rest solely with the CME-sponsoring institution. Current ethical guidelines for pharmaceutical industry support of CME programs are reviewed in this essay.