Thank you for your interest in accredited continuing education (CE)! This page will give an overview of the CE accreditation & documentation process.

The CE process can be divided into five phases:

Phase 1: Plan an Activity
Phase 2: Application
Phase 3: Pre-Activity Documentation
Phase 4: Activity Go-Live Date & Credit Claiming
Phase 5: Post- Activity Documentation

Phase 1: Plan an Activity—"Is my content eligible for accredited continuing education?"

Accreditation Information:

One of the first steps when planning an activity, is to learn about the accreditation process. Click here to view the IPCE Submitter Training. 

 

JA Criteria: Click here  

JA Policies: Click here  

Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education: Click here 

AMA Physician’s Recognition Award and credit system booklet: Click here  

Guidance for Jointly Accredited Providers to Award ACPE Credit: Click here 

Information on Ineligible Companies: Click here

CE activities must be designed to:

  • Address educational needs defined by at least one (1) professional practice gap.
  • Change skills/strategy, or performance of the healthcare team, and/or patient outcomes. 

The primary purpose for a CE activity should be to improve the problems identified in practice (practice gaps) as well as foster the continuing professional development of healthcare providers. Use this guide on how to write practice gaps PDF icon Practice Gaps Education Needs Overall Ideal State. Goal Objectives and Evaluation Method.pdf

Target Audience:

  • At least 5 healthcare providers must attend and claim credit for each session/activity
  • Primarily Advocate Health teammates 
  • For recurring activities/series: Failure to meet the attendance thresholds listed above may result in the activity losing CE accreditation.  

Types of CE Activities: View this document for definitions & examples of the different types of CE activities—PDF icon Types of CE Activities.pdf

Activity Faculty: While there are other possible roles for activity faculty, the following faculty positions serve as the foundation of a CE activity and must match the application:

  • Activity Director: the primary content expert (in at least one of the planned areas) on the planning team and typically chairs the planning committee. The Activity Director will have overall responsibility for all aspects of the accredited activity. Responsibilities may be delegated to other members of the planning committee or staff members, but ultimately the Activity Director is responsible. Responsibilities cannot be delegated to a commercial interest representative. The Activity Director must also assemble a planning team reflective of the target audience of the educational activity (ex. If physicians, RNs, & PAs are part of the target audience, the planning committee should have at least one physician, RN, & PA).
     
  • Peer Reviewer: Person responsible for reviewing content (clinical content validation and review) and/or reviews or mitigates financial relationships with ineligible companies. May not have any relationships with ineligible companies and must have the necessary credentials to fulfil the role. In many cases, the Activity Director will serve this role.
     
  • Planning team member: Serve as an active member of the planning team by providing relevant insight on educational needs and professional perspectives of the team member. Interprofessional education should have a planning committee that reflects the team and have an integrated planning process that includes health care professionals who are reflective of the target audience members the activity is designed to address.
     
  • Contact Person/Coordinator: Serves as first point of contact for accreditation and will work with the accreditation department. Creates application/proposal, works with planning team, collects disclosures, works with faculty, may lead logistics.

* Please note your planning faculty must be representative of your target audience. (Ex. If your target audience is physicians, nurses, and pharmacists you will be required to have at least one physician, one nurse, and one pharmacist on the planning team to ensure the content is relevant to each discipline.)

Owners or employees of ineligible companies cannot participate in the planning or presentation of accredited CE. Our accrediting body states that “ineligible companies” are those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. More information about the eligibility of faculty involved in continuing education is available here: Eligibility - ACCME and here: PDF icon 934_20211028_Planning-Guide-for-Independence-in-Accredited-Continuing-Education.pdf

Below are some resources that will help highlight what is required from the planning team:

Disclosure of Financial Relationships:

To protect the learning environment from industry influence, all activity faculty members must complete a disclosure of financial relationships form. Faculty members will state whether they have any financial relationships with an ineligible company in the past 24 months. An ineligible company is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re‐selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Click here to see specific examples of ineligible companies.

  • The ACCME and ACPE Standards for Integrity and Independence require that we disqualify individuals who refuse to provide this information from involvement in the planning and implementation of accredited continuing education
  • In order for a CE application to get approved all planning committee members will be required to complete the online disclosure of financial relationships form. 
  • To access the disclosure form faculty must login to their profile on the CE Learning Platform.

 

    Phase 2: Application for CE

    The first step in the application process is to complete a CE Pre Planning Form.

    Schedule:
    In order to allow enough time for planning, documentation and promotion of the activity, CE application materials* must be submitted to the CE department according to the following schedule.

    • At least 10 weeks for live/single activities. May vary depending on CE team availability. However, we recommend submitting as early as possible to ensure a smooth process.
    • At least 4 weeks for series and/or on-demand education
    • RSS Pre-Activity Documentation for code approval is due no later than 7 business days prior to the start of the activity. 
    • At least 3 weeks to post content/open registration on CE Learning Platform after accreditation is finalized

    Marketing & Branding:

    • All marketing materials/promotion of continuing education needs to be approved by the IPCE Office prior to distribution. No mention of CE credits can be made until official application approval has been provided by the CE department. Refer to our guidelines for promoting CE. PDF icon Guidelines for Promoting Accredited Continuing Education.pdf 
    • A CE flyer template can be found in the application under the Description tab.
    • ** If you intend on sending out an invite via Outlook or Teams, please include the flyer as an attachment.

    Registration:

    Registration for a Live-Single Conference:

    • All registration for a single conference is required to go through the CE Learning Platform. 
    • The CE Learning Platform offers a secure payment process that allows all attendees to complete registration and payment online, if needed.
      • Registration Fee: Please specify the amount if a fee is being charged. 
      • Registration Questions: Include any additional questions to ask during registration (in person vs virtual attendance, dietary preferences, etc.)
      • Coupon Codes: Option to provide a coupon code for free attendance for selected registrants. 
    • Registration list can be pulled anytime during the registration process by contacting the IPCE Office. 
    • Confirmation email will be sent via email to the registrant right after they register. 
      • The confirmation email can include the meeting location/link (if virtual) or can state the meeting link is forthcoming. 
    • Reminder email can be sent out at any designated time (e.g. 48, 24, 12 hours) before the conference.
      • The Planners can include any additional information for the registrant such as the location/link (if virtual).

    Application

    File IPCE Application Ethos Feb 2024.docx

    All applications must adhere to the minimum submission timelines. 

    The following information will need to be included along with the application 

    • Budget Template found in Financial Tab of Application
    • Agenda: Including beginning & ending time to calculate the number of CE credits that can be awarded. Credits are awarded relative to the duration of the education. Credit is determined in 15 minutes increments with .25 credits offered for every additional 15 minutes. Example: 45 minutes = .75 credits; 90 minutes= 1.5 credits. Welcome, Introductions not included in CE credit calculation.
    • List of all Faculty involved in planning or presenting:
      • For the application to receive provisional approval all course faculty involved with planning the activity must complete a Disclosure of Financial Relationships Form. Click here to complete the online form or copy the link to send to other faculty.
      • Please provide the credentials, job titles, and hospital affiliations or company names of all faculty members involved in the Faculty Tab of the application.
        For example: Janice Smith, MD – Cardiovascular Surgeon, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, IL
      • At the bottom of the Faculty Tab, you will find an Excel template titled JA Disclosure List Template. You can complete and upload this template if you have a long list of individuals involved in planning, such as planners, speakers, moderators, reviewers, etc.
    • Click here for information on Nursing Pharmacotherapeutics Contact Hour Requirements
    • Ready to Apply? 
      • After submission of the CE Pre Planning Form, an IPCE Office teammate will reach out to the individual who submitted the application. 

    Phase 3: Pre-Activity Documentation

    Please note that no documentation is required until the CE application has received provisional approval.  Additionally, all Pre-Activity documentation for an RSS activity code approval is due to the IPCE office no later than 7 business days prior to the start of the activity.

    Clinical Content Review & Validation (CCR) Form

    • This is an online form where an individual familiar with the subject matter (preferably the Activity Director) reviews all presentational materials (ex. PowerPoint presentations) and completes one of these online forms for each speaker/presentation prior to the activity.
    • The purpose of this form is to help ensure that educational content is fair and balanced, and that any clinical content presented supports safe, effective patient care.
    • Completion is required for presentation/lecture materials; not required for case-based discussions (case conferences) unless there is an additional presentation/lecture that is part of the activity as well.
    • Link to the form:  Clinical Content Review & Validation Form
    • For activities with multiple speakers, Activity Directors can elect to complete all clinical content validation forms inside a single Excel document (Found in the CE application--Documents Tab) and submit them all at once, rather than submitting a separate form for each presentation.
    • CCR Process for Regularly Scheduled Series:
      • Required for lectures only, not case-based education.
      • Please use multiple faculty Excel document (located in the CE application--Documents Tab)
      • You can complete this document on a session-by-session basis OR you can list out multiple sessions in one document provided you know the speaker and topic information well ahead of time.
      • Please attach this document to the relevant sessions along with the rest of the session documentation.
      • If a speaker discloses a relationship with an ineligible company, you will be required to complete the expanded version found here.

    RSS Workflow Instructions

    Speaker Compensation/Honorarium Process (If applicable)

    • If any of the activity’s speakers will be receiving any compensation/honoraria or travel reimbursement of any kind, please complete the following steps:
      • For Advocate Health employed or affiliated speakers:
        • Submit an SBAR to the APCC requesting approval to compensate the physician for speaking at the symposium. Please do this at least a month prior to the activity to ensure the physician compensation team responds in time. The SBAR form can be provided to you by the IPCE office.
          • This only applies to physicians employed or aligned/affiliated with Advocate Health.
          • Compliance with this process is solely the responsibility of the activity planning team.
          • Do not guarantee honorarium until it is approved by physician compensation.
      • Outside, non-affiliated speakers:
        • Have the speaker receiving compensation complete a presenter services agreement and send it to your IPCE office contact. The required areas are highlighted in yellow. (Template found in the CE Application--Faculty Tab).

    Commercial Support: Grants and Exhibits (If applicable)

    The IPCE office must review all grant letters of agreement prior to the activity occurring. An exhibitor agreement is required from all exhibitors.

    • Written Agreement for Commercial Support template found in the CE Application--Financial Tab.
      • Please avoid only having one commercial supporter, multiple supporters help the activity from looking like a sponsored event by a single company.
    • Exhibitor Agreement Template found in the CE Application--Financial Tab.
      • If you are interested in including exhibitors, we can set up a Vendor Page where vendors can complete an online form and submit their payment through the CE Learning Platform. Please let the IPCE team know if you would like to proceed with this option, and we will arrange the Vendor Page for you. You will then need to provide vendors with the direct link to the form for payment processing.
      • If a vendor needs to send a live check, and you do not have a process in place we have arranged Accounting to process the payment, if needed.  
        Mailing Address:
        Advocate Health
        C/O Ka Yang, Senior Accountant, Accounting
        PO Box 341880, Milwaukee, WI 53234-1880
        Include the conference name and date on the envelope
        Please inform the IPCE office if a check will be sent, so we can be prepared to process it accordingly.
      • If a Vendor cannot sign the Advocate Health Exhibitor Agreement, their agreement will undergo legal review (8-week turnaround). Please send the IPCE office the Agreement via email ASAP and we will forward it to Legal to review.
    • Signed Exhibitor Agreements and/or Educational Grants are required 2 weeks before the conference.

    Phase 4: Activity Go-Live Date & Credit Claiming

    This section will outline what CE-related steps need to be taken the day of a CE activity along with how attendees will claim their CE credit.

    Disclosure to the Audience:

    • Joint Accreditation requires statements regarding any financial disclosure or commercial support (or lack thereof), along with the accreditation & credit designation statements to be displayed to the audience at the beginning of the activity.
       
    • The IPCE office will supply these statements to the activity planner or director to display. There are several ways in which this information can be displayed:
      • A small slide set that will auto-cycle when attendees are joining the event.
      • A single document that can be printed out or shown virtually (Ex. CE- approved Flyer)
         
    • Internet Enduring Activities: This information will be included in the course's landing page, no action is needed from faculty.

    Credit Claiming Process:

    For Live Activities:

    1. The activity planner and/or Activity Director will submit the required pre-documentation by completing the CE application.
    2.  The IPCE office will make sure the proper documentation is submitted and filled out correctly.
    3.  Upon approval by the IPCE office, the faculty member that submitted the documentation will receive a 6-letter attendance code that they will enter into the following PowerPoint slide to share at the end of the activity. file SMS Text Code to Claim Credit.pptx
    4. Learners will text the code to the phone number provided in the PowerPoint slide, confirming their attendance.
    5. Attendees will receive an automatic email and follow the prompts to complete a mandatory course evaluation.
    6. Attendees will be able to claim their CE credit. 

    *Important*

    • To use text-attendance, attendees must first set up their mobile device in their profile on the CE Learning Platform. Many of those with profiles have already done so however, the IPCE office has directions for planners to share with anyone that inquires (Found under Resources--Help).
    • The IPCE office will not supply the text-code for the activity if the required pre-documentation is not submitted in a timely manner prior to the activity. This will result in the activity being held with no CE credit to offer.

    For Regular Scheduled Series:

    1. The activity planner and/or Activity Director will submit the required pre-documentation through a workflow in the CE Learning Platform no later than 7 business days prior to start of activity. (further training will be provided upon accreditation). 
    2.  The IPCE office will make sure the proper documentation is submitted and filled out correctly.
    3.  Upon approval by the IPCE office, the faculty member that submitted the documentation will receive a 6-letter attendance code that they will enter into the following PowerPoint slide to share at the end of each session file SMS Text Code to Claim Credit.pptx
    4. Attendees will text the code to the phone number provided in the PowerPoint slide and will automatically receive CE credit.

    For Internet Enduring Activities:

    1. The activity planner and/or Activity Director will submit the required pre-documentation by attaching to their approved CE application under the "documents" tab
    2.  The IPCE office will make sure the proper documentation is submitted and filled out correctly.
    3. Upon approval by the IPCE office, the course will be published on the CE Learning Platform where learners will complete the coursework.
    4. After completion of the course, learners will follow the prompts to complete a mandatory course evaluation.
    5. Attendees will then be able to claim their CE credit.

    Phase 5: Post-Activity Documentation

    • Final Budget: Please submit a budget to the IPCE office after the activity once all expenses & potential revenues have been finalized. Please use the budget template found in the CE application--Financial Tab - (Not required for zero-budget activities)
    • If you elected to share outcome data with the IPCE Office regarding the impact of the activity, please make sure to send any data in the agreed upon timeframe.
    • Evaluation Summary: The IPCE office will send the course director a summary of the audience’s responses to the online course evaluation. 
      • Live-Single Activities: 60 days after the activity
      • Internet Enduring Activities: After the online course's expiration date
      • RSS: Annually

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