Starting on Aug. 1, 2013, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which was part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will require manufacturers of drugs, medical devices and biologics to report certain payments and items of value given to physicians and teaching hospitals. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also will make information publicly available about physicians’ or immediate family members’ ownership or investment interests in applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations. Physicians are not required to take any action under this legislation, but will have the right to review and challenge their reports. Key deadlines are as follows:
- Aug. 1, 2013 – Dec. 31, 2013: Manufacturers start tracking payments to physicians.
- Jan. 1, 2014: Physicians will be able to register for a CMS online portal used to view reports.
- March 31, 2014: Manufacturers will start reporting to CMS.
- June 2014: CMS will provide physicians with access to their reports via the CMS portal.
More details on the Sunshine Act are available on the following websites:
- Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Open Payments
- American Medical Association’s Resource for Financial Transparency Reports
- AdvaMed’s Physician Payment Sunshine Law
- PhRMA’s Partnership for Healthy Dialogues
