Recently, the ACR was approached by the American College of Cardiology, which was mobilizing a small coalition of medical specialty societies to respond to the aforementioned Institute of Medicine report by coauthoring “Medical Professional Society Relationships with Industry: A Joint Statement.”5 This statement argues that such relationships should be allowed when governed by a strict ethical professional policy and code of conduct. The ACR agreed to sign onto the statement because we firmly believe that our policies do allow us to manage relationships with pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in a productive, transparent, and highly ethical manner.
The ACR, ARHP, and Research and Education Foundation (REF) have a long history of corporate support for educational and career development programs. One such example is the REF Core Awards and Grants program supported by the REF Industry Roundtable. These programs include the Rheumatology Scientist Development, Rheumatology Investigator, Career Development Bridge Funding, and Clinician Scholar Educator Awards. On average, 88 cents out of every dollar donated to the REF directly supports recipients of the REF’s Core Awards and Grants Program. Moreover, in accordance with established policies and procedures, funders have no knowledge of who the recipients will be and are not involved in the review process.
The ACR Fellows Education Fund, a scholarship program for rheumatology fellows, is also supported by corporate donors. The fund provides fellows-in-training (who may not have other sources of funding) with the opportunity to attend the most comprehensive scientific meeting in rheumatology, the ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting, as well as other key ACR educational meetings throughout the year. Fellows benefit from the opportunity to learn firsthand from internationally known rheumatology experts and to expand their professional network. Additionally, the corporate support the ACR receives for the annual meeting helps to offset the rising costs of hosting the meeting. This support allows the ACR to keep the meeting registration fees low (far lower than those of similar non-ACR meetings) thus making it possible for more rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals to attend. The collective impact of these programs on rheumatology is tremendous. Taken together, these programs ensure that current and future rheumatologists will be available and optimally prepared to address the needs of patients with rheumatologic diseases.
While the ACR stands behind all of our relationships, we also understand the rapidly changing environment. As a result, the ACR is actively working to diversify our sources of revenue. However, until such time as alternative sources of funding for education and research are identified, relationships with industry will remain a vital element of our activities.
