Guidelines for Corporate Satellite Symposia

The following information will remain on the APS website through the conclusion of the 2012 annual meeting. These guidelines and instructions have been developed as a resource for you in the planning and implementation of a satellite symposium program. Please refer to these guidelines frequently.

Please read the following information and proceed to the link below to begin your proposal for a Corporate Satellite Symposium.

APS Mission Statement: The American Pain Society is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy to reduce pain-related suffering.

The American Pain Society (APS) invites its medical education partners to submit proposals for the official Corporate Satellite Symposia (CSS), which will occur in conjunction with the APS Annual Scientific Meeting, May 17-19, 2012 in Honolulu, HI. We anticipate drawing more than 1,200 attendees from across the country. Proposals will be reviewed by the APS Scientific Program Committee (SPC), and will be evaluated based on the quality of the proposed programs and their relevance to a multidisciplinary pain community. The proposed programs must demonstrate scientific rigor and objectivity and be free of commercial bias for or against any product.

If a proposal is accepted by the SPC, the program will be scheduled as an official CSS held in conjunction with the Annual Scientific Meeting in a breakfast, lunch, or dinner slot, and may be held concurrently with other CSS. The SPC will determine program placement based on several factors. Once a time has been assigned, it cannot be changed. No other educational programs or social events supported or sponsored by any other organization and directed at the same audience may be offered over the official dates and times of the APS Annual Scientific Meeting in the same city as the APS meeting.

The SPC will review all proposals. Criteria for acceptance of a proposal include the following:

The topic is timely and of broad interest to a multidisciplinary pain community. Programs that are designed for a multidisciplinary audience will be given first consideration. See “Proposal Submission/Selection Process,” page 3.
The topic was developed in accordance with all accreditation/sponsorship guidelines, e.g., ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, ANCC Commercial Support Guidelines, ACPE Guidelines for Standards for Commercial Support, and APA Promotion and Advertising of Programs; and, the content is free of commercial bias for or against any product
The proposed program is designated for physician, nursing, psychologist, and pharmacist credit by an ACCME, ANCC, ACPE accredited provider and an approved APA sponsor. This is a requirement of acceptance and inclusion in the program.

The SPC will meet in August 31, 2011 and will review all proposals. Proposals must be received by electronic submission. Late proposals will only be reviewed by the SPC if there are available time slots.

Timeline

5/19/11 – Submission tool available on www.ampainsoc.org
8/15/11 – Proposals for CSS due to APS
Proposal received after this date will only be reviewed if time slots are available
8/31/11 – SPC Meeting
9/01/11 – Companies notified of acceptance and recommended revisions, as determined by the SPC.
9/12/11 – Once APS receives written notification that the program has secured grant funding, APS will assign date and time for the program and send a Letter of Agreement (LOA) to the Medical Education Company for the educational grant. Assignments will be made on a first-come, first-serve based on securing grant funding.
11/1/11 – Educational grant and signed LOA are due, only symposia that have a signed LOA will be included in APS program material. The symposia description submitted in the proposal will be used for the registration brochure unless we receive an updated version and a list of confirmed faculty is due.
12/1/11 – Not-for-credit Satellite Symposia will only be offered if a time slot is still available. Proposals will be sent to the APS SPC to be reviewed.
12/15/11 – Companies notified of acceptance or recommended revisions of Not-for-credit Satellite Symposia
2/1/12 – Draft copy of invitation submitted to APS for approval
2/1/12 – Final copy due for APS Program Book
2/1/12 – Hotel Voicemail is on a first-come, first-served base (optional, additional fee)
2/15/12 – APS will assign a meeting room for your event and provide logistical information packet, including: AV equipment listing, floor diagram, menus and facility contacts
3/1/12 – CSS registration live on the website
3/1/12 – APS will provide APS member mailing labels.
3/1/12 – Requests due for additional audiovisual equipment, audience response system, etc.
3/7/12 – APS Program Book advertising deadline (optional, additional fee)
4/1/12 – Function Space Requests deadline; they are on a first-come, first-served basis
4/13/12 – Deadline for housing reservations
4/25/12 – APS will provide mailing labels for pre-registrations for meeting
4/22/12 – Room Drop Deadline (optional, additional fee)
5/9/12 – APS will send a blast E-mail to all pre-registered attendees
5/17-19/12 – APS Annual Scientific Meeting
7/15/12 – Summary of program evaluations to APS post-conference

The process for submission, selection, and conduct of the CSS is described below.

Proposal Submission/Selection Process

APS Corporate Council members and their medical education partners are eligible to submit a CSS proposal online at the link below. Unapproved grants must identify where grants have been submitted and timelines of the approval process identified.
Late proposals, or those received by any means other than the electronic submission system may jeopardize their consideration.
The APS Scientific Program Committee (SPC) will evaluate and rate all proposals. Ratings will be based on overall quality, scientific merit and broad-based appeal. APS highly encourages multidisciplinary content. This can be achieved, in part, by including a psychosocial component to the program and including faculty from several disciplines.

Note: The selection of proposals is a competitive process. In 2012, the SPC will be looking for proposals that reflect content not previously presented and are complimentary to the 2012 program.

The following CSS were held in 2011:

Opioid REMS in Practice: Measuring Success

Unraveling the Progression of Acute to Chronic Pain: New Research and Clinical Perspectives
Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Pathophysiology, Comorbidities, and Treatment Considerations
Translating Advances in Pain Science and Therapeutic Approaches to Practice
New Perspectives on Acute Pain: Focusing on Efficacy and Tolerability
Clinical Case Challenge in Pain: Mechanisms, Models, and Multimodal Management
IDEAL ® Clinicians’ Forum: Pain Management and Risk Mitigation-A Practical Approach

Evaluation data gleaned from a recent annual meeting indicated strong interest in the following topics, and we encourage proposals dealing with these topics. Note: innovation in topic selection and development is of high importance to the SPC:

Cancer pain
Complex regional pain syndrome
Genetics and pain
Geriatric pain
Fibromyalgia related research and evidence based treatment (beyond the basics)
Interventional pain management
Low back pain
Headache

As you enter the title of your program, you will see a list of titles already submitted for the 2012 meeting. This is being done to avoid redundancy in topics. We strongly suggest you modify your proposal if you see that your topic has already been submitted. Please be aware that the committee may select only one program on a particular topic.

The submitted proposals will be "blinded" to eliminate bias from the SPC.
To avoid any appearance of conflict, the current APS President and members of the SPC should not be included as speakers or moderators in a CSS. Members of the Board of Directors need to carefully consider whether their participation might be construed as a conflict of interest.

2011-2012 APS President and Scientific Program Committee

Seddon Savage MD PhD, President
Kathleen Sluka, PhD PT, Chair
Charles Argoff, MD
Jane Ballantyne, MD
Beth Darnall, PhD
Patrick Dougherty, PhD
Robert Edwards, PhD (Co-chair)
Steven George, PhD PT

Carmen Green, MD
Keela Herr, PhD RN FAAN
Derek Molliver, PhD
Anne Murphy, PhD
Linda Porter, PhD
Rajan Radhakrishnan, PhD
Jamie Rhudy, PhD

All Continuing Education (CE) CSS must be designated for physician, nursing, psychologist, and pharmacist credit by an ACCME/ANCC/ACPE accredited provider and an approved APA sponsor. APS will not provide continuing education credit for CSS. For possible sources of psychologist credit, go to http://www.apa.org/ce/sponappr.html
APS will notify the medical education company in writing regarding the committee’s decision as noted on the timeline. Applicants may not contact reviewers directly to provide additional information or to check the status of a proposal.
A proposal will be considered complete when it includes: the rationale for holding the symposium, learning objectives, complete agenda for the program, including topics, synopsis of program content (session description) for publication in APS conference brochure, proposed faculty, and a description of how evaluation and awarding of CE credits will be handled on site. A representative of the medical education company must sign the proposal.
Not-for-Credit Satellite Symposia will only be offered if a time slot is still available.

Program Content and Speakers

CE CSS must comply with ACCME, ANCC, and ACPE Standards for Commercial Support.
Current APS President and SPC members may not be included as speakers or moderators in a CSS (see above).
The format of the APS meeting allows for concurrent CSS in some of the time slots. When confirming your faculty, it is important that you determine that the potential faculty member is not participating in another program being held at the same time.
The program topic/content cannot be changed once it is selected and approved.
All correspondence with CSS speakers, including honoraria and expense reimbursement, and disclosure information will be the responsibility of the organizer of the symposium.

Promotion

APS will list CSS, including brief program synopses, in the APS Annual Scientific Meeting registration brochure, on-site program book and on the APS website and symposia registration website.
APS will provide supporters of CSS with one set of mailing labels for all APS members 9 weeks prior to the annual meeting. In addition, 3 weeks prior to the conference APS will provide one set of mailing labels for the 2011 APS conference pre-registration list.
A blast e-mail will be sent 2-weeks out from the meeting to all registered attendees reminding them that CSS are being offered with a link to register.
Invitations for the CSS must be submitted to APS for review and approval prior to publication. Please allow at least five business days for APS to turn around approvals.
You may refer to your program as a "Corporate Satellite Symposium," or a "CE Satellite Breakfast/Luncheon/Dinner Symposium;" however, APS requires that the rest of the verbiage is stated in this manner: "Held in conjunction with the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Pain Society."
Requested copy for invitations: There is no registration fee for attending this symposium, however, seating is limited. To preregister for (Name of Symposium goes here), please register online at www.symposiareg.org/aps or contact Heather Deja at 847/375-3676. Preregistration does not guarantee seating. We do recommend arriving at the symposium location early.
Please note – any usage of the APS logo requires permission from APS.

The following are marketing opportunities available to support attendance at your CSS. These programs require an additional fee. Please refer to the exhibitor prospectus at www.ampainsoc.org for detailed information.

Program Book Advertising
Room Drop at headquarter hotel
Hotel Voice Mail Message at headquarter hotel

Registration

APS will assign a vendor to handle all pre-registration for CSS. Attendees will be referred to one web site, www.symposiareg.org/aps to register for all satellite events.
Registration reports will be sent on a scheduled basis identifying all pre-registrants with their demographic profile.
A CSS Information desk will be set in the APS registration area to field questions and assist in onsite registration.
Registration will be available on-site at the Cyber Café.
All CSS will be listed on signage located in the APS registration area by the CSS information desk.
CSS personnel must be available outside the session room an hour prior to the scheduled start time of the event to handle registration and answer questions.
A set of alphabetic reports of all pre-registered attendees for the CSS and 2 lead retrieval units will be provided one hour before the session, these units must be picked up at the APS registration counter.
A registration table, easels and rope and stanchion will be provided outside the CSS room.

Event Logistics

One person must be designated as the sole contact for the CSS. APS will deal directly with that one person.
APS will assign a meeting room for your event and provide logistical information packet, including: AV equipment, floor diagram, and facility contact via mail.
Meeting rooms designated for CSS will be set with round tables, banquet style. Buffet set up will be allowed only with prior permission from the APS contact.
A minimum of 350 should be budgeted for food & beverage. Guarantees should be based on your preregistration numbers and past attendance at similar events at APS. This number does vary based on time slots.
- Breakfast (150-250 attendees)
- Lunch (200-300 attendees)
- Dinner (150-250 attendees)
Please indicate your preference on the proposal.
APS may require you to change your menu based on other events within the meeting.
The CSS and all food & beverage must be kept contained within the assigned meeting room and the assigned time frame.
CSS organizer is responsible for handling onsite management of the event.
A registration table, set of alphabetic reports of all CSS pre-registered attendees, 2-lead retrieval units, easels, and rope and stanchion will be provided outside the session room. No other furniture, display units, banners or unapproved signage may be placed outside the room. No sales activities may take place and no promotional materials may be distributed in the meeting room or the registration area.
Space will also be allocated for a maximum of 4 signs (28” x 44”) for the CSS. Placement and availability of posting signs will be determined by APS. Organizers are responsible for removing signage and meeting handouts, etc., from their assigned rooms at the conclusion of the event.
APS requires that you use the designated audio/visual contractor for this meeting, MAC Productions. A detailed AV equipment list and diagram will be provided. You have approval to bring in your own Producer and to order additional AV equipment.
Audio/video taping will be the responsibility of CSS organizer and can be arranged through MAC Productions.
All expenses associated with changes in room set-up and clean up, food and beverage, electrical, telephone, shipping, etc., are the sole responsibility of the CSS organizer.
Evaluations and certificates for continuing education credits are the responsibility of the CSS organizer. A summary of participant evaluations must be provided to APS no later than 8 weeks after the conference.
A block of rooms is being held for APS meeting attendees at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Reservations: (800) HILTONS or www.hiltonhawaiinvillage.com. Room rate: $199-$239, cutoff date is April 16, 2012

Compliance

Violation of these guidelines may result in the cancellation of the CSS and/or may jeopardize the opportunity to hold a CSS at future annual meetings. One person must be designated as the primary contact/project manager for the satellite program throughout the application and planning process; APS will deal directly with that one person.

Enduring Material

Post your enduring material of the APS website and reach more than 2,500 APS members. The APS website receives more than an average of 20,000 unique visitors a month. This benefit is included in the satellite symposia fee.

APS will send out link promoting the educational offering in the APS E-news that will go out to all APS members
APS will send out an e-mail notification to all attendees highlighting the additional educational offering on the APS website.

Educational Grants

The program fee for a Corporate Satellite Symposium is $60,000 in the form of an educational grant to the American Pain Society.
A letter of agreement between APS and the medical education company must be signed.
Corporate Council members providing the grant to the medical education companies will be acknowledged as providing the grant with the listing of the session. They will not be acknowledged as supporters of the meeting through this grant.
Program fees and accompanying signed letters of agreements must be received by APS by November 1, 2011.

Click here to begin your corporate satellite symposium submission or to retrieve/edit an existing submission.

Please contact APS if you need assistance with your submission, 847/375-4715. Our staff is available to assist you from 8 am – 6 pm Central time.