Faculty and Disclosures

Joel M. Blau, CFP™
President
MEDIQUS Asset Advisors, Inc.
No disclosures

Charles D. Mabry, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor and Practice Management Advisor to the Chairman
Department of Surgery
College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
No disclosures

James W. Saxton, Esquire
Co-Chair, Health Care Department
Chair, Health Care Litigation Group
Stevens & Lee, P.C.
No disclosures

Thomas V. Whalen, MD, MMM, FACS
Chair, Department of Surgery 
Lehigh Valley Hospital
No disclosures

Disclosure Policy

In accordance with the ACCME’s Accreditation Criteria, the American College of Surgeons must ensure that anyone in a position to control the content of the educational activity has disclosed all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest. Therefore, it is mandatory that both the program planning committee and speakers complete disclosure forms. Members of the program committee were required to disclose all financial relationships and speakers were required to disclose any financial relationship as it pertains to the content of the presentations. The ACCME defines a ‘commercial interest’ as “any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients”. It does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be commercial interests. The ACCME considers “relevant” financial relationships as financial transactions (in any amount) that may create a conflict of interest and occur within the 12 months preceding the time that the individual is being asked to assume a role controlling content of the educational activity. 

The ACCME also requires that ACS manage any reported conflict and eliminate the potential for bias during the presentation. The planning committee members and speakers were contacted and the conflicts listed below have been managed to our satisfaction. However, if you perceive a bias, please advise us of the circumstances on the evaluation form.

Please note we have advised the speakers that it is their responsibility to disclose at the start of their presentation if they will be describing the use of a device, product, or drug that is not FDA approved or the off-label use of an approved device, product, or drug or unapproved usage. 

The requirement for disclosure is not intended to imply any impropriety of such relationships, but simply to identify such relationships through full disclosure, and to allow the audience to form its own judgments regarding the presentation.