CME Accreditation Information

MedLink®, LLC is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Accreditation in the ACCME system seeks to assure the medical community and the public that MedLink, LLC delivers education that is relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence. The ACCME System employs a rigorous process for evaluating institutions' CME programs according to standards that reflect the values of the educator community and aim to accelerate learning, inspire change, and champion improvement in healthcare. Through participation in accredited CME, clinicians and teams drive improvement in their practice and optimize the care, health, and wellness of their patients.

MedLink, LLC designates each MedLink Neurology internet point-of-care activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. “AMA PRA Category 1 Credit” is a trademark of the American Medical Association.

MedLink, LLC considers those sessions eligible for credit that begin with the formulation of a question and viewing of at least one article. A maximum of 20 credits may be claimed annually for CME credits earned for self-driven education using MedLink Neurology under the AMA’s Physicians Recognition Award (PRA) program for internet point-of-care activity.

Learners start a CME activity by asking a question (eg, conducting a Search) and viewing an article. The activity is completed when learners record how the activity improved their competence. MedLink automatically enters their activity in their CME log. They must complete the requirements for CME credit within 90 days.

Mission

Our mission is to meet healthcare practitioners’ need for more rapid and efficient access to clinical knowledge and, thereby, to enable them to engage in research and learning on their own initiative to enhance their clinical strategies, maximizing quality and efficiency and minimizing errors, omissions, and waste. Our ultimate goal is for practitioners to integrate this CME platform as an essential tool in their medical practice. To fulfill this mission we produce and keep current a continually updated online educational platform, featuring a library of originally written, authoritative, and trustworthy articles for Internet searching and learning. The platform, MedLink Neurology, spans the entire breadth of the discipline of neurology.

We envision that practitioners who care for patients with neurologic disorders, primarily physicians and advanced practice providers specializing in neurology, will constitute its audience of users. We expect that the ubiquitous availability of internet access will motivate practitioners to use this rapid-access platform as a resource when faced with an immediate need. When used in relation to patient care, it will empower practitioners to formulate improved clinical strategies (improved competence) and then apply them to their patients (improved performance) and, thereby, attain better outcomes.

To ensure that our program of continuing education is meeting this mission and that improvements in the program are implemented where indicated, we continually assess our own competence and performance in collaboration with our contributors and learners for the benefit of practitioners, patients, and society.

Needs Assessment

Neurologists ranging from academic leaders to community-based practitioners and trainees have indicated that there is a need for an educational platform that enables practitioners to efficiently answer questions that arise in relation to care of patients with neurologic disorders. Learners have pointed out gaps in our coverage, which we have passed on to our Editorial Board for evaluation. It is also the task of each member of the Editorial Board to inform us about gaps in coverage in their own areas of expertise.

Objectives

By regularly consulting MedLink Neurology in relation to specific clinical needs presented by actual patients and for other professional purposes, users of this resource will be supported in their self-driven quest to formulate improved clinical strategies, thereby enhancing their competence.

Target Users

Target users include neurologists, neurosurgeons, advanced practice providers, and other healthcare professionals with a professional interest in neurology.

No Commercial Bias

It is the policy of MedLink, LLC to ensure objectivity, independence, transparency, and scientific rigor in its educational content. MedLink’s educational content is under the exclusive control of its contributors (authors and editors). The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for overall planning and evaluation. Names, affiliations, and relevant financial disclosures of all contributors are displayed for each article. All contributors‘ financial relationships are reviewed and mitigated prior to publication of their work on the website.

MedLink, LLC does not accept support from commercial interests, and none of its personnel have financial relationships with commercial interests. Individuals in a position to control CME content who decline to provide financial disclosures are disqualified from participating in MedLink Neurology. Users are encouraged to contact MedLink, LLC in confidence by sending email to service@medlink.com with any information related to actual or potential conflict of interest or of commercial bias. MedLink, LLC will investigate all allegations of impropriety and institute appropriate remedies as warranted.

Earning CME Credit

MedLink documents activities of each user at the MedLink Neurology website to facilitate meeting AMA CME requirements for internet point-of-care learning. To claim CME credit for internet point–of-care activities, the AMA requires that physicians (a) formulate clinically relevant questions; (b) identify the relevant sources from among those consulted; and (c) describe the application of their findings to practice and whether it resulted in a change in knowledge, competence or performance.

MedLink records articles viewed and provides a means for learners to document their clinical question and how their knowledge or competence was improved. Learners may view this information from their Dashboard, which can be accessed by clicking "My Dashboard" in the top navigation bar. Learners may print their CME certificates and documentation of their educational activities from their Dashboard as well.

MedLink, LLC will retain records of logged CME activities indefinitely but at least 6 years. However, learners are urged to print their documentation and CME certificates at least annually and to retain such records in their personal files. Learners will be asked to complete a brief online evaluation form when they request CME certificates to help MedLink, LLC evaluate and improve the MedLink CME Program and to comply with ACCME® requirements.

Compensation of Contributors

Authors and editors receive modest honorariums directly from MedLink, LLC for submission of manuscripts. No compensation is provided by third parties.

Authorship

Authorship of articles is retained by original authors for as long as they continue to update their work, after which it is transferred to successor authors. Successor authors have full responsibility for the intellectual content of their articles, including freedom from commercial bias.

Miscellaneous

MedLink does not provide links to the web sites of ineligible companies (companies that produce products or services consumed by or on patients). MedLink does not place advertising or other sponsored information on its website nor does it display such information through other means, eg, email messages. MedLink’s contact information can be found at the bottom of this page. MedLink complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to protect patient privacy. A link to MedLink’s privacy policy with respect to users of this web site can be found by clicking "Privacy Policy" at the bottom of this page. The dates of original publication, last update, and expiration (3 years after publication or last update) are provided in each article. Educational information expires 3 years after publication and is then labeled as such and is no longer eligible for CME credit, unless updated. We update nearly 80 percent of articles annually and nearly all within 3 years of original publication. This site is owned by MedLink, LLC, 3525 Del Mar Heights Road, Suite 304, San Diego, CA 92130. The information published on this site is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.