Click here for the Disclosure Sample Slides (PowerPoint).

As a sponsor accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) must insure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its sponsored educational activities. All faculty participating in a sponsored activity are required to disclose to the activity audience any financial interest or other relationship with any supporter of this educational activity or the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of commercial services, including computer software/hardware, to be discussed in an educational presentation. These situations may include but are not limited to, a) stock options or bond holdings in a for-profit corporation or self-directed pension plan, b) research grants, c) employment (full or part time), d) ownership or partnership, e) consulting fees or other remuneration received by the presenter or his/her immediate family, including any support that may be provided to attend the educational meeting, f) non-remunerative positions of influence such as officer, board member, trustee, or public spokesperson, g) receipt of royalties, h) "speaker's bureau". The information will be published in the program syllabus.

Because this disclosure, either having a relationship or having none, is a requirement of the ACCME, the lack of filing such a statement with ASNC will disqualify the faculty person from participation in the program.

In addition, every speaker should begin a formal presentation with a title slide, including speaker name and lecture topic, indicating at the bottom whether or not a relationship exists that might be considered a conflict of interest. This statement must be in appropriate size and color font to be clearly visible at the back of the auditorium. The statement may be very simple, with wording such as:

"A relationship [or No relationship] exists that represents a possible conflict of interest with respect to the content of this presentation."

In the case of minor conflicts of interest, no oral statement is necessary in addition to the title slide.

In the case of major conflicts or interest, an oral statement should be made at the beginning of the presentation, preferably at the time of the title slide, indicating the exact nature of the conflict.

If a speaker has a relationship which is not obviously categorized as "minor" or "major" it is better to disclose fully than to not disclose.

If original scientific research is presented at a scientific meeting, major conflicts of interest should be disclosed by the presenter for the authors, as applicable.

Definitions
Minor conflicts include research grant support and occasional honoraria provided for invited lectures in which the invitation was offered by a university, hospital or medical/professional organization.

Major conflicts of interest include product ownership, stock ownership, receipt of royalties, consultancies, advisory board positions, or positions on speakers bureaus in which invitations for lectures are made directly by the commercial sponsor or its CME organization.

The intent of this disclosure is not to prevent a speaker with a significant financial or other relationship from making a presentation, but rather to provide listeners with information on which they can make their own judgments. It remains for the audience to determine whether the speaker's interests or relationships may influence the presentation with regard to exposition or conclusion.

Off-Label Indications of Non-FDA Approved Products
When an unlabeled use of a commercial product, or an investigational use not yet approved for any purpose is discussed during an educational activity, the faculty must disclose that the product is not labeled for the use under discussion or that the product is still investigational. This information should be included on the slide referenced above.