Accreditation for CME/CE

Continuing Education Mission

The Continuing Education Mission of IHC is to enhance clinician communication skills for the purpose of contributing to quality healthcare.

This is accomplished through:

1. Providing CE/CME activities (including workshop and train-the-trainer programs) to healthcare professionals working in a variety of healthcare settings.
2. Designing and developing educational experiences to enhance clinician communication skills with patients, clients and healthcare teams.
3. Developing and implementing structured and experiential learning formats (e.g., presentation, audio-visual and/or web-based learning, etc.) to facilitate the assimilation of CE/CME activity content.
4. Evaluating improvements in clinician communication skills and the impacts of these enhanced skills in clinical practice.

IHC Continuing Education Accreditation

IHC has maintained accreditation status to grant continuing education through two accrediting bodies:

1. Accreditation Council of Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) (with commendation)
2. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)

IHC also maintains a co-provider relationship with the University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing, accredited by the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing nursing education (CNE). To award CME or CE credits for a given course, the accredited provider organization has to go through an accreditation process which is tightly controlled by each of the accrediting bodies such as the ACCME. As an accredited provider, IHC grants a prescribed number of CE credit hours for learners who attend the communication workshops.

ACCME Standards for Commercial Support

As an accredited CE/CME Provider, IHC subscribes to the ACCME Standards of Commercial Support (SCS). This ensures that IHC’s educational materials do not contain any advertising, trade names or product group messages and that the educational content does not include discussion of therapeutic options or the endorsement or discussion of proprietary or commercial products. IHC complies with all ACCME Standards and requires compliance of these same standards from all IHC trained faculty in their planning and delivery of IHC workshops.

CE/CME Committee

IHC’s U.S. Advisory Council serves as the official CME Committee.

Thomas L. Campbell, MD
William Rocktasel Professor and Chair of Family Medicine, University of   Rochester

Susan Cohen, PhD
Director of Counseling/Chairperson, the Carola Walburg Rothschild Society  for the Human Animal Bond

Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh

Dennis Novack, MD
Professor of Medicine
Associate Dean of Medical Education, Drexel University College of Education

John C. Laidlaw, MD, PhD
Consultant, Cancer Care Ontario

Moira A. Stewart, PhD
Director, Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario

Kathleen Bonvicini, EdD, MPH
Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Healthcare Communication

CME Committee members roles and responsibilities include:

• Lend professional input in development of CME activities
• Provide guidance to ensure that the CME Program is consistent with the CME mission and compliant with Accreditation Standards including Standards of Commercial Support.
• Serve as CME Activity Planners
• Review CME Policy and Procedures
• Participate in media events, such as symposia, interviews or roundtable publications.