Subsection 3: Bodies

I. - The Haut Conseil du développement professionnel continu des professions de santé (High Council for Continuing Professional Development in the Healthcare Professions) has the following missions:

1° To identify the state of scientific knowledge and national and international experience in the field of continuing professional development;

2° To encourage the adoption of continuing professional development methods devised by the Haute Autorité de santé for the design of continuing professional development initiatives;

3° Formulate proposals relating to the quality, organisation, implementation and promotion of continuing professional development initiatives and to issues submitted by the Director General of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development;

4° Contribute to the work of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development in terms of evaluating the impact on professional practices of continuing professional development actions taken by healthcare professionals.

II. - The Haut Conseil du développement professionnel continu des professions de santé comprises :

1° A chairman appointed by order of the Minister for Health ;

2° The chairmen of the eight independent scientific commissions provided for in article R. 4021-13 ;

3° Sixteen members appointed by the Managing Director of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development on the recommendation of the selection committee mentioned in III and distributed as follows:

a) Eight representatives of the national professional councils, including four representatives from at least three different medical and pharmaceutical professions and four representatives from four different paramedical professions;

b) Eight qualified persons chosen for their expertise in the field of continuing professional development;

4° A representative of the Haute Autorité de santé (Health Authority) appointed by its president;

5° A representative of the Conference of University Presidents appointed by its President.

The Managing Director of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development draws up the list of members of the High Council, following their appointment or designation under the conditions set out in 1° to 5°.

Members are appointed or designated for a renewable term of three years, starting from the publication of the list mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Representatives of the Minister for Defence and the Ministers for Higher Education, Research, Health and Social Security may attend meetings of the High Council for the Continuing Professional Development of the Health Professions in an advisory capacity.

The Chairman of the High Council may request the expertise of any qualified person, depending on the agenda.

The Director General of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development may attend meetings of the High Council in an advisory capacity and may call on the assistance of collaborators.

The High Council for Continuing Professional Development of the healthcare professions meets at least twice a year at the invitation of its Chairman. It may also be convened at the initiative of at least one third of its members, the chairman of the general meeting of the founding members of the public interest grouping, the director general of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development or the ministers responsible for health or social security.

The High Council shall draw up its own rules of procedure, which shall in particular lay down the conditions under which it operates and the procedures for setting up and operating working groups or commissions.

III. - Following a call for candidates, the selection committee draws up the list of sixteen members of the High Council for the Continuing Professional Development of the Health Professions in accordance with 3° of article R. 4021-11.

The selection committee is chaired by an Inspector General of Social Affairs appointed by the Head of the Inspectorate General of Social Affairs and also includes:

1° One representative each from :

a) the Directorate General for Healthcare ;

b) The Social Security Directorate; and

c) The Directorate General for Higher Education and Professional Integration; and

d) The Armed Forces Health Service;

2° A representative of the Caisse Nationale de l'Assurance Maladie appointed by its Director General;

3° A representative of the Agence Nationale du Développement Professionnel Continu appointed by its Director General;

4° The chairman of the Haut Conseil du développement professionnel continu des professions de santé ;

5° A qualified person with expertise in the field of continuing professional development abroad appointed by the general manager of the agency.

The list of members of the selection committee is drawn up by the Managing Director of the National Agency for Continuing Professional Development, following their appointment under the conditions laid down in this III. The Selection Committee is renewed each time all the members mentioned in 3° of II are reappointed.

The Selection Committee may validly sit if at least half of its members are present.

The secretariat of the selection committee is provided by the Agence nationale du développement professionnel continu.

For the renewal of all the members mentioned in 3° of II, a call for candidates is launched no later than six months before the expiry of their term of office.