ACMA Conducted Congressional Briefing on Public Health Imperative of Pharmaceutical Industry Standards for Medical Affairs Professionals

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA) conducted a congressional briefing on Wednesday, March 24 to discuss the important and growing role pharmaceutical Medical Affairs and Medical Science Liaison (MSL) professionals play in educating the medical community and public on new healthcare advancements and the need for accreditation through certification to standardize practices across the industry for greater transparency and accountability.  

The briefing featured data and insights from industry and academic leaders and patient advocates working to ensure equity, trust and excellence in Medical Affairs professional engagements and addressed:

• The growing importance of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices, and diagnostic companies’ use of Medical Affairs professionals to improve transparency and accountability
• Real world applications demonstrating the value that board certified Medical Affairs professionals bring to the development of therapeutics and delivery of high-quality healthcare
• The importance of certification and accreditation of Medical Affairs professionals to physicians, patients, payers and the pharmaceutical industry
• Patient advocate perspectives on access to trusted scientific and medical information and the need for standards

Speakers at the briefing included: 

• Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Ranking Member, E&C Health Subcommittee
• Paul Rowe, MD, ATSF, BCMAS, Vice President, Head of Global Medical, Immunology at Sanofi Genzyme
• Jill Massey, PharmD, MBA, BCMAS, Vice President Medical Affairs, Safety and Pharmacovigilance, Gilead Sciences
• Tina Kanmaz, Pharm.D., AAHIVE, BCMAS, Clinical Professor and Assistant Dean, Experiential Pharmacy Education, St. John’s University
• Sarah Krug CEO, Cancer101, Founder, Health Collaboratory
• William Soliman, PhD, BCMAS, CEO, Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA)

More than ever, confidence in objective, science-based data about therapeutics, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, and other healthcare services is a shared imperative among the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare communities and the American public.

The growing demands on pharmaceutical Medical Affairs professionals and MSLs as a critical interface between the health care companies and stakeholders — including physicians and patients — emphasizes the need to standardize and certify core competencies and practices across Medical Affairs teams. Board certifying Medical Affairs and MSL professionals is critical to ensuring ethical practices, compliance excellence, and public trust at this crucial time. 

“We can’t be experts at everything. We can no longer be know-it-alls. We have to be dependent on each other and being able to rely on people with specific credentials that you trust is extremely important. I’m glad that we’re here today. I’m glad that we have Medical Science Liaisons. I’m glad you’re going to learn more about them. I think they can help not only practitioners of medicine in health care do their job but ask those of us who are involved in health care policy do our jobs better,” said Rep. Guthrie. 

The ACMA developed the first board certification ever for Medical Affairs professionals and Medical Science Liaisons in 2015, and its Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) program is now considered the industry standard in the pharmaceutical industry.

The entire briefing is currently available to watch here. 

About the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs

The ACMA’s mission is to help the pharmaceutical industry achieve the highest standards for excellence. The company provides comprehensive solutions to pharmaceutical industry organizations around the globe. The company’s flagship Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) professional certification program for MSLs and Medical Affairs professionals is the industry standard now in over 70 countries. The ACMA also provides a medical CRM, AI-powered predictive analytics, a prior authorization certification, and medication safety and regulatory affairs services.

For more information about the ACMA, visit https://www.MedicalAffairsSpecialist.org/. 

Media contact:

Tracey Benjamini
R&J Strategic Communications
908-963-7770
tbenjamini@randjsc.com 

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SOURCE Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs