The American Geriatrics Society - About the AGS

CORPORATE SUPPORT PROGRAM

The American Geriatrics Society receives funding from a number of corporations for projects and programs ranging from sessions at the AGS Annual Meeting to development of Clinical Practice Guidelines to professional education programs for our State Affiliates. This funding allows the Society to undertake projects that help it to advance its mission of improving the care and quality of life of older adults. Recent AGS projects that were supported in part or in whole by grants from industry include the development of the AGS Guidelines on Falls and on Persistent Pain, our Urinary Incontinence Initiative, and our Dinner Series on VTE that we are conducting in conjunction with three of our state affiliates. Corporate funding has also enable us to launch MyAGS, a new member benefit that allows individual members to create their own professional and patient-facing websites.

The value of these initiatives to our members and to the public is significant. For example, over 1,500 members of the public and health care professionals have contacted us for information on the AGS pain guideline and over 500 health care professionals have viewed the web cast of the 2002 Annual Meeting Plenary Session at which the guideline was presented. The Public Education Materials on Urinary Incontinence were accessed by 33% of visitors to the FHA website during the first quarter of 2002. 40% of AGS members are participating in My AGS.

Our Corporate Support Program and our relationships with our funders are governed by the Guideline for Corporate Relationships of the American Geriatrics Society which was adopted by the AGS Board after significant discussion and input from the members of the standing Committees.

Guidelines for Corporate Relationships
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for profit association of geriatrics health care professionals, research scientists, and other concerned individuals dedicated to improving the health, independence and quality of life for all older persons.

The AGS promotes high quality, comprehensive and accessible care for America's older population, including those who are chronically ill and disabled. The organization provides leadership to health care professionals, policy makers and the public by developing, implementing and advocating programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy (Mission and Goals Statement of the American Geriatrics Society)

The Society develops programs, products and services to advance its mission. These activities are funded through 1) revenues generated from membership dues and other Society programs and publications, 2) foundation grants, and 3) grants from corporate sponsors. The following guidelines are intended to ensure a clear, consistent and ethical policy governing the Society's corporate arrangements. The AGS Board of Directors is responsible for establishing the principles and guidelines governing AGS's relationships with commercial organizations. The AGS Executive Vice President is responsible for the review and recommendation for approval by the Board of Directors of each specific arrangement against the above principles and appropriate guidelines. For the purposes of these guidelines, corporate arrangements shall mean transactions in which the AGS receives funds from a commercial organization and the AGS's name and logo are used in connection with a company, product, or service.

When appropriate and desirable, the AGS participates in nonexclusive corporate arrangements to support activities that advance the AGS's mission. Any proposed arrangements must be reviewed and approved by the AGS Board of Directors to ensure that acceptance of such funds would have no potential influence on AGS's programs or policies or conflict with the association's goals.
The AGS will align only with commercial organizations that manufacture and/or distribute high quality products and/or services through sound business and ethical practices.
The AGS prohibits corporate influence over Society products, policies and/or positions.
The AGS will accept funds or royalties from corporate sponsors only when such acceptance does not pose a conflict of interest and has no negative impact on the objectivity of the AGS's activities, its members, programs, or employees.
Participation in a specific corporate arrangement does not in any way imply the AGS's approval or endorsement of any corporate policies, nor does it imply that the AGS will advocate on behalf of any corporate entity. The AGS's name and logo may not be used in a manner that would express or imply an AGS endorsement of the corporation or its policies.
The AGS will provide recognition of corporate support in AGS publications and other appropriate forums, and AGS corporate arrangements will be disclosed regularly as part of organization's financial reporting to the Board of Directors. No product endorsements may be made part of such recognition.
The AGS reserves the right to review and approve all marketing materials bearing the AGS's name and/or corporate identity in compliance with these guidelines.
The AGS retains editorial control over any information produced as part of a corporate arrangement. In every case, all materials in print, broadcast, or electronic media prepared by the corporate entity must be submitted to the AGS for approval in writing prior to release.
Whenever possible and feasible, the AGS seeks funding for programs from a variety of sources. It is understood, however, that occasions may arise when support of a specific event, publication, or service from a single source is appropriate. The AGS will exercise special caution so that in circumstances when single support is granted, the AGS avoids conflicts of interest and guards against any perception of conflict of interest.

Implementation of Projects with Outside Funding
Once a project has been approved by the relevant AGS Committees and the Board of Directors, it is assigned to the relevant Committee(s) for oversight. Staff and project directors provide periodic progress reports to the assigned Committee. Committees receive regular progress reports on the work being conducted and review any AGS products that emerge from projects with outside funding. For example, in addition to the peer review provided by organizations with an interest in the clinical topic being addressed, AGS Clinical Practice Guidelines are reviewed by the Clinical Practice Committee and AGS Board of Directors. Similar review processes are followed for all AGS statements and publications.

Specific Conditions of Support
The AGS requires industry supporters to sign a letter of agreement for each project or program that a company funds that details the AGS conditions governing the grant. AGS requires that:

a program or project is for scientific and educational purposes only and will not promote the Commercial Supporter's products, directly or indirectly.
it have control of content and selection of expert panelists, presenters, or moderators. The Commercial Supporter agrees not to direct the content of the program. The Commercial Supporter, or its agents, will respond only to requests initiated by the AGS for suggestions of presenters or sources of possible presenters. The Commercial Supporter will suggest more than one name (if possible); will provide speaker qualifications; will disclose financial or other relationships between Commercial Supporter and speaker, and will provide this information in writing. The AGS will duly record role of Commercial Supporter, or its agents, in suggesting presenter(s); will seek suggestions from other sources, and will make selection of presenter(s) based on balance and independence.
there be meaningful disclosure of financial relationships. Such disclosure will include alerting the audience for a program or project to (a) funding from Commercial Supporter and (b) any significant relationship between the AGS and the Commercial Supporter or (c) between individual speakers or moderators and the Commercial Supporter.
there is no "scripting," emphasis, or direction of content by the Commercial Supporter or its agents.
for educational programming, that there are no promotional activities or product advertisements during the program or along the obligate path to the program.
data regarding the Commercial Supporter's products (or competing products) are objectively selected and presented, with favorable and unfavorable information and balanced discussion of prevailing information on the product(s) and/or alternative treatments.
to the extent possible, meaningful disclosure of limitations on data, e.g., ongoing research, interim analyses, preliminary data, or unsupported opinion.
that presenters disclose when a product is not approved in the United States for the use under discussion.
there are opportunities for questioning or scientific debate.
The AGS remain independent in its use of contributed funds with specific requirements that:
1. Funds are in the form of an educational grant made payable to the American Geriatrics Society.
2. All other support associated with an activity (e.g., distributing brochures, preparing slides, etc.) must be given with the full knowledge and approval of the American Geriatrics Society.
3. No other funds from the Commercial Supporter will be paid to the program director, faculty, or others involved with the CME activity (additional honoraria, extra social events, etc.)
that professional education programs are in compliance with ACCME Standards for Commercial Support for Continuing Medical Education and FDA Policy.
the AGS will not use the unrestricted educational grant for any meals or other gifts inconsistent with the American Medical Association Guidelines (Ethical Opinion 8.061) concerning gifts to physicians.

Professional Education Programs
The AGS is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide CME. We work with the American Association of Family Physicians, the New York State Nurses Association, and the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists to obtain prescribed credit hours for family physicians and continuing education credits for nurses and for pharmacists.

The Professional Education Executive Committee (PEEC) oversees all AGS Professional Education Programming, ensuring that the Society offers programming that is in compliance the ACCME Essential Areas and their Elements and with the standards set by the FDA in its Guidance for Industry-supported Scientific and Educational Programs.

Members of the PEEC include the current, immediate-past, and incoming Chairs of the Annual Meeting Program Committee and the lead Editors for the Geriatrics Review Syllabus as well as members at large who are drawn from medicine, nursing, social work, and pharmacology. The PEEC has created a Mission & Goals Statement for Continuing Medical Education which is reviewed yearly. Its members are working with the Geriatrics Interdisciplinary Advisory Group on creating a Mission & Goals Statement for Continuing Professional Education.

The American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting
In an effort to ensure the highest quality educational programming for its members, the AGS oversees all aspects of industry support at the AGS Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting Program Committee selects industry-supported sessions and assigns an AGS Program Committee Representative to oversee each session. The Committee and the PEEC also require that the moderators for industry-supported symposia (indeed for all symposia at the meeting) have been Society members for at least one year at the time of submission of a proposal. Moderators are required to affirm that they understand the ACCME guidelines for programs with commercial support and that they have been engaged in the selection of speakers and topics to be presented at the meeting. The Program Committee member will work with the moderator to insure that Program Committee-recommended suggestions are integrated into a session and s/he reviews the slides and educational hand-outs to ensure that presentations are balanced. S/he also attends the session to ensure that it is conducted in accordance with AGS policies.

AGS requirements for industry supported sessions at the meeting include limitations on signage (two posters are permitted on the day of the session) and communications to members (only one invitational mailing is permitted). AGS Professional Education staff review all promotional communications to ensure that these are compliant with our policies. The AGS does not permit door drops at the meeting nor does it permit broadcast faxes or emails to its members.

AGS Policy Regarding Linkages to Corporate Websites
The AGS Board has determined that linkages to the websites of corporate supporters should be at least two clicks from the AGS website, that there should be a notice to the user that s/he is leaving the AGS website, and that the link should be to the corporate home page and not to a specific product.

AMA Guideline on Gifts to Physicians from Industry
The AGS complies with the AMA guideline on Gifts to Physicians from Industry and we advise individual clinicians to familiarize themselves with these guidelines.

PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals
In 2002, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) adopted the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. The voluntary code is intended to govern the pharmaceutical industry's relationships with physicians and other healthcare professionals. The code can be found on the PhRMA website www.phrma.org.

2002 Corporate Supporters of the AGS
The following companies have supported AGS projects and programs during 2002:

Aventis Pharmaceuticals
Forest Laboratories, Inc.
GlaxcoSmithKline
HCR ManorCare Foundation
Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc.
Kyphon, Inc.
Eli Lilly & Company
McNeil Consumer Products Company
Merck & Company, Inc.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Omnicare, Inc.
Organon, Inc.
Pfizer, Inc.
Pharmacia Corporation
Purdue Pharma L. P.
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
National Health Essentials
Procter & Gamble