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Veterinary Conference Vetting System

The conference vetting system is a certification process for veterinary conference organisers to demonstrate to sponsors and exhibitors that an event is primarily educational and complies with the VetCEE code of ethical conduct. This allows companies to avoid concerns of undue influence on veterinary practitioners through their support of education.

To be fully compliant, organisers must demonstrate:

1. That the event is primarily an educational event covering clinically relevant topics. These topics may include veterinary clinically subjects and/or related non-clinical professional topics (e.g. leadership, business management).
2. That the event location / venue will not be the main attraction of the conference.
3. That any sponsorship of hospitality will be limited and reasonable and will be accessible to all delegates.
4. That sponsorship should not be available for entertainment, and when this forms part of a veterinary conference, that it is paid for directly by attendees.
5. That sponsored hospitality should not extend to guests of delegates.

Hospitality (meals, refreshments) should be differentiated from entertainment (live bands, entertainers). Limited numbers of keynote speakers or celebrities presenting within a scientific programme would not normally be classed as entertainment, even if discussing topics outside the core subject of the event.

6. That gifts and prizes offered during commercial exhibits should be proportionate and should not include cash or cash equivalents.
7. That gifts and prizes must not improperly reward, incentivise and/or encourage attendees to purchase, lease, recommend, prescribe, use, supply or procure a Company’s products or services.
8. Organisers should require commercial exhibitors to follow reasonable conduct that will
   1. promote responsible prescribing, especially for antibiotic use.
   2. not promote products or services on the basis of safety or relative safety except data produced by national pharmacoviglence data and/or peer reviewed publications.
   3. not deliberately denigrate competitor products or services.
   4. must comply with national regulations of the venue.

Compliance certification will be offered following a review of the program contents and marketing materials using digital micro-credentials. Compliance micro-credentials can be embedded in web pages that promote conference sponsorship etc.

These micro-credentials must not be used to market a conference to delegates and do not imply educational accreditation of the event. For details of educational accreditation, please click here.

To discuss certification please contact our experts in education.