It is the policy of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics to plan and implement all of its educational activities in accordance with the ACCME® Policies to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor. In accordance with the ACCME® Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, everyone (speakers, moderators, platform presenters, presenting authors, committee members, and staff) who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is required to disclose all financial relationships with any commercial interests (see definition below) within the past 24 months that creates a real or apparent conflict of interest. 

Individuals with potential for influence or control of CME content include:

• planners, planning committee members, staff
• submitters and first authors
• presenters, teachers
• educational activity directors
• educational partners
• others who participate, e.g., facilitators and moderators

This disclosure pertains to relationships with ACCME-defined Ineligible companies.  (Definition of ineligible company: Those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, reselling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.)  Financial relationships are relevant if the following three conditions are met for the individual who will control content of the education:

• Financial relationship, in any amount, exists between the person in control of content and an ineligible company.
• The financial relationship existed during the past 24 months.
• The content of the education is related to the products of an ineligible company with whom the person has a financial relationship.

ACMG’s POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR IDENTIFYING AND RESOLVING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR CME EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

The ACCME® Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education describe five standards: (1) Ensure Content is Valid, (2) Prevent Commercial Bias and Marketing in Accredited Continuing Education, (3) Identify, Mitigate, and Disclose Relevant Financial Relationships, (4) Manage Commercial Support Appropriately, (5) Manage Ancillary Activities Offered in Conjunction with Accredited Continuing Education.

The Standards are designed to:

• Ensure that accredited continuing education serves the needs of patients and the public.
• Present learners with only accurate, balanced, scientifically justified recommendations.
• Assure healthcare professionals and teams that they can trust accredited continuing education to help them deliver safe, effective, cost-effective, compassionate care that is based on best practice and evidence.
• Create a clear, unbridgeable separation between accredited continuing education and marketing and sales.

The purpose of this policy is twofold: [1] Prevent Commercial Bias and Marketing in Accredited Continuing Education as required in Standard 2, and [2] Identify, Mitigate, and Disclose Relevant Financial Relationships required in Standard 3. 

Regardless of role, disclosure forms for speakers, moderators, all presenting authors, program committee and staff participating in a CME activity will be collected and reviewed.

1.  ACMG follows the ACCME policy on Content Validation for CME activities, which requires:
                 a) All recommendations involving clinical medicine must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate
                     justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients
              b) All scientific research referred to, reported or used in CME in support or justification of patient care recommendations must conform to the generally
                  accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis.
    
2. Activities that fall outside the definition of CME/CE; “Educational activities that serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession” (source: ACCME and AMA) will not be certified for credit. CME activities that promote recommendations, treatment, or manners of practicing medicine or pharmacy that are not within the definition of CME/CE or, are known to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or, are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients.
    
3. Presentations and CME/CE activity materials must give a balanced view of therapeutic options; use of generic names will contribute to this impartiality.  If the CME/CE educational materials or content includes trade names, where available, trade names from several companies must be used.

The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics ("ACMG") supports medical information privacy. While the ACMG is not a "covered entity" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") and its implementing regulations (the "HIPAA Privacy Rules") and, therefore, is not required to meet the standards set forth in the HIPAA Privacy Rules, ACMG takes reasonable steps to attempt to ensure that any presentation of individually-identifiable health information at ACMG-sponsored events has been properly authorized.

Each speaker and presenter at the ACMG 2022 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting must acknowledge and sign the Verification of HIPAA Authorization Form prior to the presentation.

ACMG educational programs are designed primarily as an educational tool for healthcare providers who wish to increase their understanding of the application of genomic technologies to patient care. The ACMG does not endorse or recommend the use of this educational program to make patient diagnoses, particular by individuals not trained in medical genetics. Adherence to the information provided in these programs does not necessarily ensure a successful diagnostic outcome. The program should not be considered inclusive of all proper procedures and or exclusive of other procedures and that are reasonably directed at obtaining the same results. In determining the propriety of any specific procedure or, a healthcare provider should apply his or her own professional judgment to the specific clinical circumstances presented by the individual patient or specimen.

Questions regarding CE credit should be directed to education@acmg.net

The following reported disclosures and none are relevant to the content of this course. All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.

Planning Committee and ACMG Staff*
The following have nothing to disclose.

Cinthya J. Zepeda Mendoza, PhD                         Nathan D. Kopp, PhD
Eli Williams, PhD, FACMG                                       Ross A. Rowsey, PhD, FACMG
Erin Conboy, MD, FACMG                                        Sarah H. Elsea, PhD, FACMG
Jennifer R. King, MD, MS                                          Tuya Pal, MD, FACMG
Jessica O’Shea, MS, CGC                                             Kulchak Rahm, PhD, MS
Jodi D. Hoffman, MD, FACMG                                Yoshiko Mito, PhD, FACMG
Kristina P. Cusmano-Ozog, MD, FACMG             Maximilian Muenke, MD, FACMG
Marc S. Williams, MD, FACMG                               Claudia Barnett
Marc Tischkowitz, MBBS, PhD                               Jane Dahlroth, CEM, CMP-HC  
Michael J. Gambello, MD, PhD, FACMG              Penelope Freire, CMP
Myra Wick, MD, PhD, FACMG                               Jane Radford, MHA, CHCP

The following Committee members have reported financial relationships in the past 24 months with ineligible companies: