Compliance with state and federal regulations keeps growing in complexity, and there are several key points to consider regarding virtual speaker programs. Virtual speaker events are “compliance friendly” in several ways, as follows:

• By eliminating meals and the use of the dining venues, virtual meetings eliminate one of the biggest elements that trigger various state and federal compliance requirements.

• Honoraria payments per event should be lower for virtual meetings, causing lower total annual payments to speakers.

• Data on participation to speaker virtual speaker programs is automatically captured on a secure central server database. This is more reliable and accurate than relying on field sales persons to submit paper records of attendance.

• Content (slide sets, videos, animations, etc.) presented during virtual speaker programs is under the control of the virtual meeting provider and not susceptible to unapproved changes in content.

• Virtual events can be readily monitored at very low cost by compliance officers or others.

• A virtual meeting moderator can provide regulatory statements and disclosures with superior consistency, and in other ways follow protocols to conduct virtual meetings in a compliant manner.

• Lastly, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (PPSA) has recently become law and goes into effect over the next two years. The PPSA sets reporting requirements at $10 per transaction or $100 annually per physician for “payments of value” which includes meals. One result is that attendees to dinner meetings will have their name and the value of the meal reported on a public website, which may be a disincentive for many HCPs to attend dinner meetings. Virtual meetings that eliminate meals will also eliminate the PPSA reporting requirement.