Weber Shandwick's U.S. Healthcare Practice Takes Lead On New Regulatory Compliance Training and Certification

Thursday, June 26, 2008 NEW YORK, NY, June 26, 2008 - Weber Shandwick, global public relations leader, is pleased to announce that it has implemented comprehensive regulatory compliance training and certification for all employees in its U.S. healthcare professional practice.  The new regulatory compliance initiative, launched by the Center for Communication Compliance (CCC), is the first and only online, centralized source of regulatory compliance training and competency testing for healthcare communications professionals.

"Today's healthcare regulatory environment is becoming increasingly complex and PR agencies must be vigilant in partnering with clients on regulatory compliance," said Laura Schoen, president of Weber Shandwick's global healthcare practice.  "It is more critical than ever for healthcare PR counselors to understand regulatory issues and be able to apply this knowledge to their day-to-day work." 

"A standardized course and certification on regulatory compliance is long overdue for the healthcare communications industry," Schoen noted.  "Over the past 30 years, the pharmaceutical industry and its agencies have kept up with changing guidelines, but there has been no accepted standardized regulatory curriculum, or expert-reviewed test, to confirm competency."

"With the launch of CCC, we will ensure that all appropriate Weber Shandwick U.S. healthcare professionals achieve practical fluency in the most up-to-date guidelines governing our industry," said Schoen.  "We're proud to be the first PR agency to commit to this critical regulatory compliance initiative throughout the U.S., which will benefit our teams and clients now and as the regulatory environment evolves."

Weber Shandwick has been instrumental in CCC's efforts to set a new standard for regulatory competence in the practice of healthcare public relations.  The agency is a CCC Charter Reviewer, having participated in the CCC pilot test to confirm the portal's value and ease of use. Weber Shandwick also serves as a model for the rest of the industry as a member of the CCC Leadership Circle, which recognizes PR agency commitment to regulatory compliance.  The agency is the only firm in the 100+ employee category of CCC's Leadership Circle.

About Center for Compliance Communications
The Center for Communication Compliance (CCC) is the first and only centralized resource, training, and certification portal (www.CommunicationCompliance.com) dedicated to regulatory compliance for healthcare communication professionals.  It is designed to help reduce risk, save time, and increase the credibility of the industry and its communication partners in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.  CCC administers the Regulatory Compliance Test (RCT), the only expert-reviewed test available for healthcare communication professionals that certifies regulatory compliance competency. CCC also offers a 3-hour Web-based training seminar, Regulatory Compliance 101, taught by nationally recognized regulatory experts; it is accessible 24/7 from the Web site. The free one-stop library has links to more than 50 resources to guide compliance. The company also provides access to leading regulatory and legal consultants for customized counsel; diagnostic tools for companies to identify gaps in current practices; and reports on the state of regulatory competency in the industry.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in over 79 markets around the world. The firm’s reputation is built on its deep commitment to client service, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates - engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across world-class practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, corporate/financial and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. Weber Shandwick received the highest client-satisfaction honors in the 2007 Agency Excellence Survey by PRWeek U.S. and in 2006, was named Large PR Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.), European Consultancy of the Year (The Holmes Report) and Network of the Year (Asia Pacific PR Awards). The firm also won the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations for the past three years. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com/.