he Open Payments system's website is up and running as of September 30. The Open Payments system was created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, part of the Affordable Care Act. Manufacturers of drugs, devices and medical supplies are required to report all payments made by them, or other items of value given by them, to physicians and teaching hospitals.
The website makes the data on financial relationships between
manufacturers and healthcare providers freely available to the
public. It includes detailed descriptions of the process by
which the information is collected and other extensive educational
material, including a "frequently asked questions" page.
The records themselves are organized into three categories
-- general payments, research payments and physician ownership
and investments -- and may be sorted and viewed in different ways
with a "data explorer tool."
One might speculate that after the widely reported problems with
the healthcare.gov website a year ago (and since), and physician
complaints regarding erroneous data in the Open Payments system
less than two months ago, CMS devoted extra resources to ensure
that the Open Payments website would appear authoritative,
content-rich and easy to navigate.
More information about the Open Payments system and the
Sunshine Act may be found
here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
