MEDICAL EDUCATION

Independent Medical Education

Our Responsibility

The Independent Medical Education (IME) Grant Office cooperates with eye care delivery organizations, medical societies, and medical education organizations to advance the treatment of disease by narrowing practice gaps through support of independent continuing education. We are committed to supporting educational activities that seek to accelerate the translation of clinical science to quality patient care.

Goals and Initiatives

Educational Goals

Educational Goals

The IME Grant Office will consider proposals that aim to address educational goals in the following categories:

Cataract surgery (fundamentals/basics, IOLs, workflow, visualization, and FLACS [femtosecond laser–assisted cataract surgery])
Keratorefractive surgery (treatment options, technology)
Vitreoretinal surgery (technology, techniques, DAVS [digitally assisted vitreoretinal surgery])
Glaucoma (disease state, treatment with prescription drugs, technology, visualization)
Contact lens & lens care (contact lens platforms, lens care solutions)
Ocular allergy (over-the-counter treatments for ocular itch associated with seasonal and perennial allergic conjunctivitis)
Ocular surface health (diagnosis and management, management with artificial tears, understanding and managing inflammatory dry eye, understanding neuromodulation in dry eye)

SEE CURRENT EDUCATIONAL GOALS

Educational Initiatives

Educational Initiatives

The IME Grant Office will consider grant proposals that support certified and noncertified medical education for eye care professionals. Priority will be given to educational initiatives that are:

Aligned with the current medical education goals of the IME Grant Office
Certified by an accredited medical education provider
Supported by multiple organizations (multi-supported)
Planned with a robust agenda that includes a hands-on educational learning opportunity (wet/dry lab)

Grants Process

The Process

The Independent Medical Education Grant Office (IME) grant process consists of the following steps:

Eligibility
Grant submission
Grant office review
Post-decision
Post-activity

Links to referenced documents:

View Expanded Medical Education Grant Process Document ›

Eligibility

To determine eligibility for an educational grant from the IME Grant Office, please complete the online Eligibility Questionnaire.

Questionnaire ›

Polices and Guidelines

REGULATORY GUIDELINES AND ETHICAL STANDARDS

Alcon abides by regulatory guidelines and ethical standards that govern support of continuing medical education, including but not limited to the following:

Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support
Council on Optometric Practitioner Continuing Education (COPE) Standards for Commercial Support
The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Compliance Program for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Eye Care Professionals
FDA Final Guidance on Industry-Supported Scientific and Educational Activities

IME GRANT OFFICE

In keeping with these guidelines and Alcon’s internal policies, the IME Grant Office will not:

Provide suggestions for topics and/or speakers for live programs or enduring materials
Review slides or other materials for clinical accuracy
Process applications received less than 8 weeks prior to the event or need

GRANT APPLICATIONS

IME Grant Office will not support grant applications:

that are linked to prescribing, purchasing, formulary status, or reimbursement
in which education is not the primary focus of the meeting
in which there are recreational activities and/or entertainment
in which there are non-modest meal functions and spouse or guest meals are covered
that cover overhead/operating costs, ie, the fixed cost of running a business (rent, utilities, etc), which cannot be attributed to a specific certified educational activity
solely for marketing campaigns including newspaper/TV/radio ads or public information spots and capital campaigns/building funds
for website development or mass media production
for patient education, vision screenings, health fairs, or open houses
for charitable contributions or fundraising events
to pay for equipment or service contracts
that are not within the therapeutic areas of interest to Alcon
to individuals for travel or meeting registration costs
for travel or study in a foreign country
to individual eye care professionals or private practice groups
for the purpose of practice development or staff training
for meetings for the purpose of referral or networking