Policy on Honoraria and Expense Reimbursement for CME Activities
A. Faculty Honoraria for Internal CME Activities
- All continuing education activities engaged in by any of MedStar Washington Hospital Center's (MWHC) departments/subdivisions or joint sponsors shall occur in collaboration and cooperation with the Department of Continuing Medical Education and Quality Training (DCMEQT).
- With regard to live presentations and workshops, it is expected that salaried faculty will actively participate in activities sponsored by MedStar Washington Hospital Center and certified by the DCMEQT. Participation is considered part of expected faculty duties; therefore, no honoraria will be provided. Clinical departments may provide expense reimbursement to salaried faculty for participation in any live continuing education activity that takes place outside of the local geographic area.
- Participation in other types of continuing education activities is not considered part of routine faculty duties. These types of activities may include, but are not limited to the following:
Development of educational web pages
Creation of internet materials such as streaming videos or animations
Authoring articles, manuscripts, and monographs
Creation of videotapes, audiotapes, CD-ROMs or DVDs
Development of home study courses
Participation on expert editorial board
Participation in Performance Improvement Activities
- Regardless of the type of MWHC CME activity, any single honorarium that is in excess of $3,000 must be approved by the Department Chair as well as the Medical Director of the DCMEQT in consultation with the CME Activity Director and DCMEQT Executive Director. In addition, the total honoraria for any individual faculty member cannot exceed $30,000 in a given calendar year, unless approved in writing by the Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs.
B.Honoraria for NON-Medstar Faculty Providing Presentations in the washington, dc metropolitan area
The honorarium for a non-MedStar faculty member will typically be set by the Medical Director of DCMEQT based upon the recommendation of the CME Activity Director and/or the Planning Committee. In addition, criteria for determining an honorarium will include the individual's background, the level of honoraria for the discipline, time and development considerations as well as other unique factors. In addition to providing an honorarium, it is expected that coach travel, meals, and lodging will be reimbursed for faculty residing outside of the DC metropolitan area.
C.Faculty Honoraria for Outreach CME at Regional Hospitals
The Outreach CME Program allows regional hospitals to have access to MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s faculty through a jointly sponsored CME program. There will be no faculty honorarium provided. The individual department reimburses faculty members directly for roundtrip mileage for participating in the Outreach CME Program.
D. MEDstar employed Faculty Honoraria for Presentations ouTside of the washington, dc metropolitan area
The honorarium for MedStar faculty giving a presentation at a MedStar WHC CME program outside of Metropolitan Washington, DC will typically be set by the DCMEQT Executive Director based upon the recommendations of the Activity Director(s) and/or the Planning Committee. Criteria for determining an honorarium will include the individual's background, the level of honoraria for the discipline, time and development considerations and available funding. In addition to providing an honorarium, it is expected that coach travel, meals, and lodging for faculty will be reimbursed.
E. Honoraria for Other Types of Continuing Education Activities
The honorarium for participating in other types of continuing education activities as described in section A3 above will be set by the DCMEQT Medical Director in consultation with DCMEQT Executive Director based upon the recommendation of the CME Activity Director and Planning Committee. Criteria that will be taken into account when setting an honorarium will include the individual's background, the level of honoraria for the discipline, the amount of effort entailed, and available funding.
F. Faculty Honoraria for National Symposia
The DCMEQT directly and jointly sponsor continuing education activities targeted at national and international audiences. Honoraria usually range from $500 to $4,000 for faculty members who participate in national- or international-level continuing education activities that are directly or jointly sponsored by MedStar Washington Hospital Center, produced by the DCMEQT (often in collaboration with external partners), and involve nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the field. The DCMEQT may authorize direct payment to individual faculty members for participating in such activities but may also delegate this responsibility to one of its joint sponsors/educational partners.
G. Method of Payments
Payments are limited to the following:
- A check to the faculty member
- A funds transfer into a departmental account or Special Purpose Fund
- A check provided by one of the joint sponsors/educational partners directly to a faculty member, departmental account or Special Purpose Fund
- Payment to MedStar employees will be made through the MedStar Health payroll division of the Central Business Office (CBO).
- Employees represented by a union must be paid at their hourly rate through the payroll service.
H. Expenditures and Expenses for Individuals Providing CME
Faculty may be reimbursed for expenses only for the portion of the CME activity in which they participate in a teaching role. Reimbursable expenses include:
- Up to 4 nights in a standard hotel room (length of stay dependant on scope and/or duration of responsibilities)
- Coach air or train fare (exceptions may be considered by the Medical Director of CMEQT)
- Reasonable meals (not including alcoholic beverages) if not provided by the Activity unless specifically addressed in faculty invitation letter
- Taxi, train or bus fare (home to airport/station, airport/station to activity location, activity location to airport/station, airport/station to home) excluding private car service
- Parking at airport or station
- Auto travel mileage at the IRS mileage rate
Policy on CME Honoraria & Expenses Reimbursement Revised July 2012