New development for medical device manufacturers – This time it’s the Physicians Act!!!

Physician Payment Sunshine Act

Clients will be interested to know that American Medical Association (AMA) being the only governing body for physicians has come up with this new act called as Physician Payment Sunshine Act. This act demands the manufacturers of drugs, medical devices and biologics to record certain items and payments they have made to physicians and teaching hospitals.

How it works:

Manufacturers should collect and track payment, transfer and ownership information starting from Aug 1, 2013 onwards. These reports will be submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on yearly basis. CMS will publish this report on website for public review from September 2014. Physicians will have the right to review the report and challenge it, if they find any incorrect information against them. AMA is also coming up with the provision of “Physicians Sunshine Act Tool kit” to provide key points to the physicians before they submit the report. The tool kit includes free webinar, frequently asked questions and answers, important dates for submission related information and guidance to physicians for challenging the incorrect report.

Other provisions by AMA:

1. AMA has exempted the reporting of pharmaceutical funding of certified and accredited continuing medical education (CME) from this act.
2. Physicians will have at least 45 days to challenge incorrect information before the report gets public and will have 2 years to dispute and make correction to the report.
3. AMA also wants the physicians to record financial and conflict of interest issues in the report.
4. Physicians are advised to coordinate with industry representative to check the report before it is being submitted to the government.
5. Physicians should register with CMS on January 1 to receive a firm report on activities each June for the previous reporting year.
6. There is a smartphone free app for physicians called as “OPEN PAYMENTS Mobile for Physicians” to track all their activities with the industry.

You can log on to the following link for more information.