Clinical Hematology International - About International Academy for Clinical Hematology
What is the IACH?
The International Academy for Clinical Hematology (IACH) was founded by an international group of physicians whose focus is to promote good clinical practice in the field of clinical hematology. The IACH is a reputable organization which is highly viewed within the hematological community. The IACH is registered in England with a non-profit purpose.
The mission, governance, bylaws, current mandate and role of chairs, membership rules, of the IACH are clearly defined by the Memorandum and Articles of Association registered in England under Number 14200227 according to the Companies Act 2006 (https://www.clinical-hematology.org/ (this opens in a new tab))
The IACH actively promotes improvements in education and does not have or owned by any commercial interest. The IACH defines its scientific policies and develops its activities/educational interventions independent of any commercial interest.
The IACH maintains a clear separation of “promotion” from “education”. According to the well accepted standards, a clear distinction is maintained between the scientific activities of the IACH, and potential sessions and/or presentations organized by industry and hosted at IACH events. The IACH appropriately manages commercial support. Participants are well informed of commercial presence (if any), at IACH events through the use of disclosure statements where relevant.
Conflict of interest policy at the IACH
Since its creation, the IACH has implemented a stringent policy for management of conflict of interest. In their capacity as directors, contributors, or chairpersons of committees or working groups, the individual leaders and contributors of the IACH must always act in the best interests of the organization and in a manner that preserves the independence and credibility of actions taken on behalf of the IACH. This policy aims to ensure that IACH programs and initiatives are free of bias arising from conflicts of interest. The IACH directors, contributors, or chairpersons of committees or working groups understand that some circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect educational content about products or services of a commercial entity any with which he/she has (or has had) a relevant financial relationship. Therefore, they must agree to abide by the following content development mechanism:
All recommendations for patient care in the IACH educational activities must be based on current science, evidence, and clinical reasoning, while giving a fair and balanced view of diagnostic and therapeutic options. Benefits/risks/alternatives for drugs/devices will be given.
When possible, only scientific or generic names (not trade names) will be used when referring to products. Scientific research in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Unlabeled/off-label or investigational use of any drug/device, and any limitation on the information will be disclosed to learners (e.g., preliminary data, interim analyses, unsupported opinion).
If they have financial relationships with commercial entities or have had within the past 24 months, the nature of the relationships must be disclosed to the learners before the start of the educational activity. Learners and attendees must also be informed that no relevant financial relationships exist.
The above-mentioned conflict of interest policy is clearly mentioned on the IACH website (https://clinical-hematology.org/conflict-of-interest/ (this opens in a new tab)).
The IACH educational activities
Most IACH educational activities are accredited by EBAH, because IACH adheres to EBAH strict standards. EBAH is the European Board for Accreditation in Hematology (https://www.ebah.org (this opens in a new tab)), which is a totally independent body that stimulates and supports harmonized high-quality Continuing Medical Education in hematology, both for individuals and organizations, in order to provide the highest possible standard of patient and public health care within Europe. EBAH is the reference accreditation board in Europe for unbiased and transparent Continuing Medical Education in Hematology. Accredited events by EBAH are strictly reviewed by an independent review board and are of the highest quality standards. Events are reviewed and only the high-quality educational ones are granted accreditation.