The MedStar Health Department of Continuing Professional Education operates on the premise that continuing education is essential and indispensable and that it is our responsibility to create the conditions that assure a successful CE program. We can assist in the development of precise and attractive educational materials, engagement of expert speakers, and design and delivery of a program that will be instructive, enlightening, authoritative and creditable.

With a resume listing hundreds of successful educational programs, we manage more than 150 days of educational conferences per year, for groups of 25 to 1,500 attendees. These include regularly scheduled grand rounds and specialty/sub specialty conferences, live national and international activities and online learning. Our meeting planning team interacts regularly with world-renowned research institutions and conference faculty. We have earned our reputation by successfully managing continuing medical education course content, meeting logistics and registration data while providing outstanding customer service and impeccable attention to detail. From concept through completion, we offer a full range of services including accreditation, program development & evaluation, site selection, speaker and vendor management, marketing, graphic design, registration, financial oversight, data and logistical management. The CPE conference management staff is committed to delivering high-quality conference management, which allows you to relax as we coordinate every aspect of the conference.

• Consult with the conference Course Director(s) to prepare the necessary materials and requirements to obtain program review and approval
• Advise on Joint Accreditation Criteria to ensure that the activity is planned in accordance with the ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support
• Consult with conference Course Director(s) to analyze gaps in physician knowledge, identify needs and establish educational objectives and goals to create an effective conference agenda
• Meet regularly with Course Director(s) to review program and overall planning process
• Facilitate and guide the CE process and provide guidance regarding requirements for activity administration
• Work with CE planning committee to identify potential conflicts of interest for faculty with relationships with commercial supporters
• Manage the presentation review and conflict of interest resolution process with the conference faculty
• Create and administer CE pre-test using strategic educational outcome measurements provided by the Course Director(s)
• Create overall conference CE evaluation and compile the evaluation results data
• Provide certificates of attendance and MedStar Health transcripts for all participants
• Assemble the CE Final Activity Reports and other required documents for the Joint Accreditation and other accrediting organizations
• Management and planning of overall conference design and attendee experience

• Setup faculty management website for content routing, disclosure collection, schedule assignments, hotel and travel requests/tracking
• Create and manage all faculty invitations
• Manage faculty assignments/schedule; communicate changes on ongoing basis with faculty and Course Director(s)
• Coordinate air travel and hotel arrangements through designated travel agency (additional fees may apply)
• Coordinate international/VIP faculty airport transportation (additional fees may apply)
• Manage all faculty honoraria payments and reimbursements
• Coordinate purchase of any faculty gifts, awards and/or amenities
• Respond to all general faculty inquiries
• Compile all completed CE forms 30+ days in advance of meeting
• Collect all faculty presentations for compliance reviews and pre-conference technical testing
• Compile all faculty financial disclosures for inclusion in on-site materials distributed to participants
• Facilitate on-site faculty management
• Optional: Faculty dinner or lunch management (additional fees may apply)
• Optional: Award presentation logistics

• Locate, negotiate and contract with a premium conference facility or hotel for meeting space, audiovisual support, food and beverage, guest rooms and all related functions and events
• Locate, negotiate and contract with one additional hotel for moderately priced sleeping rooms
• Create and manage all hotel room blocks and sub-block for faculty and conference attendees; track hotel room pick-up on a regular basis to ensure the contracted minimum pick-up is met
• Coordinate all food and beverage functions including space requirements, physical set-up, menu selection and decorations
• Coordinate all social events and/or special symposia including site selection, budget, menu selection, entertainment transportation, invitations and promotion (additional fees may apply)
• Select, negotiate and contract with outside vendors including but not limited to audiovisual services (including live and taped cases), trade show decorators & exhibitor services, transportation & parking services, entertainment, print & signage production, keynote speaker(s), photographers & videographers and other general service contractors
• Attend site visits, and conduct pre-conference and post-conference meetings with hotel/venue and vendor personnel
• Create and oversee on-site conference management schedule and distribute to hotel/venue and outside vendors

• Negotiate contract with vendor for audiovisual equipment and services with optimal terms and conditions
• Coordinate additional audiovisual vendor requirements with hotel
• Facilitate necessary audiovisual needs for full conference management including but not limited to speaker ready, simultaneous sessions/breakouts, special events, and symposia, live and taped cases, cadaver labs, audience response systems and various audience interaction methods, audio and video recording for enduring materials, etc. (additional fees may apply)
• Assist with day-of audiovisual needs

• Develop and implement a marketing plan for audience generation including but not limited to direct mail and email marketing, printed and online and advertisements, social media, and strategic partnerships to maximize conference exposure
• Create, host, maintain and update the meeting website
• Develop the conference design concept and produce meeting logo to be included on but not limited to all print and e-marketing materials, the conference website, conference letterhead, signage, title slides, and on-site housekeeping/announcement slides
• Create, produce and distribute the overall conference brochure and other related pre-conference printed materials
• Utilize a robust direct and email marketing list database to target promotional campaigns to potential conference attendees
  
• Facilitate mailing list purchases/ rentals to mail or e-market to additional potential conference attendees
• Develop strategic partnerships with other reputable conferences, societies, and associations to increase publicity
• Collect and format scientific information for inclusion in the conference materials
• Design and produce all on-site collateral materials to include final programs, exhibitor, and abstract guides, attendee name badges, special event/symposia invitations and agendas, signage (directional, promotional and podium) syllabi and other conference related materials for all meeting participants (additional fees may apply)

• Identify and assist with obtaining commercial support through unrestricted educational grant requests and exhibitor and promotional solicitation
• Create and manage the industry, exhibitor, and industry promotional support budget
• Prepare content, produce and distribute Exhibitor Prospectus
• Facilitate procurement of educational grants by sending proper correspondence, maintaining database and completing all ACCME required paperwork
• Identify, solicit and secure exhibitor and promotional support through established relationships, continued correspondence and communication with pharmaceutical and medical device representatives
• Coordinate exhibition including floor plans, freight, lead retrieval, signage as well as exhibitor registration, set-up, billing, collections, and post conference follow-up (additional fees may apply)
• Collect CE letters of agreement (LOA) for all commercial supporters
• Prepare appropriate recognition of commercial support
• Maintain CE compliance and documentation for commercial support
• Complete required budget reconciliations as required for each commercial supporter

• Set up, test and maintain online registration management system
• Collect and compile registrations & payments for attendees, faculty, vendors, and exhibitors
• Design, produce and distribute pre-conference registration communication and required materials (i.e., confirmation letters, directions, requests for visa letters, etc.)
• Process cancelled registrations and process refunds
• Manage walk-in registrations and no-shows
• Provide a report of confirmed registrations on a routine basis to the Course Director(s) and Planning Committee
• Provide on-site registration materials for all registrants to include pre-printed badges
• Facilitate on-site registration check in for faculty, attendees and exhibitors/vendors to include pre-printed badges and other conference materials

• Prepare projected income and expense budget to cover all conference costs, including management and accreditation fees
• Maintain ongoing meeting budget, and negotiate/contract with vendors as needed to adhere to proposed meeting budget
• Facilitate, hotel/venue and other outside vendor expense payments
• Issue all faculty honoraria and reimbursement of appropriate expenses in accordance with CE policies; provide reimbursement on a timely basis
• Manage the collection of receivables and payment of all expenses related to the conference
• Maintain accurate record-keeping of all income and expenses to achieve final reconciliation; provide budget status updates to Course Director(s) on a regular basis

• Select, procure and distribute attendee conference bags and lanyards
• Solicit and coordinate materials for attendee conference bags
• Manage on-site registration set-up, meeting room configuration, audiovisual equipment and support, signage and technical support, transportation and catering
• Manage all on-site activities including registration, meeting room configuration, audiovisual equipment and support, technical support, industry/exhibitors, abstracts, signage, transportation and catering, live cases, cadaver labs and special symposia/breakouts
• Oversee on-site conference and vendor staff

• Prepare summary of overall meeting evaluations and distribute to Course Director(s)
• Prepare and distribute final attendee report to Course Director(s)
• Conduct post-conference meetings with the Course Director(s), hotel/venue and outside vendor personnel
• Complete financial reconciliation with conference hotel/venue, outside vendors, exhibitors and supporters
• Compile final conference budget for Course Director(s) and complete final transfer of funds as needed

• Manage online abstract submissions, review and grading, notification of acceptance and publication and all other communications with abstract submitters and reviewers
• Coordinate abstract poster presentations
• Organize oral abstract presentations, events, and awards as needed

Cadaveric Symposium

• Contract with high caliber cadaver vendor for set up and execution of symposium or lecture
• Manage audio visual services as needed for execution of symposium
• Organize symposium faculty and presentations for session
• Coordinate with any outside sponsors for materials, conference marketing, and set up of symposium

Cadaver Lab

• Contract with high caliber cadaver vendor for set up and execution of lab with required number of stations and materials
• Manage assignments of faculty and registration for participants of lab
• Coordinate with any outside sponsors for materials, conference marketing, and set up of lab