As required by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and in accordance with the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) policy, all individuals in a position to control or influence the content of an activity must disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible company that have occurred within the past 24 months. The ACCME defines an “ineligible company” as companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used by or on patients. Examples of such organizations include:

Ambulatory procedure centers
Blood banks
Diagnostic labs that do not sell proprietary products
Electronic health records companies
Government or military agencies
Group medical practices
Health law firms
Health profession membership organizations
Hospitals or healthcare delivery systems
Infusion centers
Insurance or managed care companies
Nursing homes
Pharmacies that do not manufacture proprietary compounds
Publishing or education companies
Rehabilitation centers
Schools of medicine or health science universities
Software or game developers

The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be commercial interests. For more information, visit www.accme.org. All identified relevant relationships must be mitigated and the educational content thoroughly vetted for fair balance, scientific objectivity, and appropriateness of patient care recommendations. It is required that disclosure of or absence of relevant financial relationships be provided to the learners prior to the start of the activity.

Learners must also be informed when off-label, experimental/investigational uses of drugs or devices are discussed in an educational activity or included in related materials.

Disclosure in no way implies that the information presented is biased or of lesser quality. It is incumbent upon course participants to be aware of these factors in interpreting the program contents and evaluating recommendations. Moreover, expressed views do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the ACAAI. All identified conflicts of interest have been mitigated.