Enduring Material

Enduring material is a non-live CME activity that "endures" over time.  Typically, an enduring material is a videotape, monograph, or CD Rom. Enduring materials can also be delivered via the Internet.  The learning experience by the physician can take place at any time in any place, rather than only at one time, and one place, like a live CME activity.

Enduring materials must comply with all ACCME Essential Areas and Elements including the Standards for Commercial Support and Accreditation Policies.  However, there are specific communication requirements for enduring materials because of the nature of the activities.

For CME activities, including those in which the learner participates electronically (e.g., via Internet, CDROM, 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). 

Providers that produce enduring materials must review each enduring material at least once every three years or more frequently if indicated by new scientific developments. So, while providers can review and re-release enduring material every three years (or more frequently), the enduring material cannot be certified for credit for more than three years without some review on the part of the provider to ensure that the content is still up-to-date and accurate. That review date must be included on the enduring material, along with the original release date and a termination date.

Accredited providers may not enlist the assistance of commercial interests to provide or distribute enduring materials to learners.
ACCME policy does not require 'post-tests' for enduring materials. ACCME records retention policies do, however, require participants to verify learner participation and evaluate all CME activities. So, accredited providers often choose to include a post-test in their enduring material activities as a way to comply with those two requirements.

Sometimes providers will create enduring material from a live CME activity. When this occurs, ACCME considers the provider to have created two separate activities – one live activity and one enduring material activity. Both activities must comply with all ACCME requirements, and the enduring material activity must comply additionally with all ACCME policies that relate specifically to enduring materials

Enduring materials include printed, recorded, audio, video and/or online/electronic activities that may be used over time at various locations, and that in themselves constitute a structured CME activity.

In addition to the application requirements, enduring material activities must also adhere to the following requirements:

Prior to starting the educational activity, participants must be aware of the following information:

• The principal faculty and their credentials,
• the medium or combination of media used,
• the method of physician participation in the learning process,
• the estimated time to complete the educational activity (same as number of designated credit hours),
• the dates of the original release and most recent review or update, and
• the termination date (date after which enduring material is no longer certified for credit).

Regarding commercial support:

• The material must not contain any product-specific advertising.
• The program must acknowledge any commercial support, but only at the beginning of the program.
• Acknowledgement of commercial support may include the name, mission, and areas of clinical involvement of the company or institution, and may include corporate logos and slogans, if they are not product promotional in nature.
• No brand names or product-group messages may be used in the acknowledgement, even if they are not related to the topic of the enduring material.

Commercial interests (e.g., pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers) may not provide or distribute any enduring materials.
 
Remember, programs must verify learner participation and evaluate any enduring material-driven CME activity.  A post-test is one way to satisfy these requirements; however, a post-test is not a requirement.