The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ continues to publish data from applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) about payments they make to physicians and teaching hospitals on its website. We’re pleased that the public has searched Open Payments data more than 6.3 million times. Doctors, teaching hospitals and others receiving payments or other transfers of value that are sent to us from reporting entities, should take steps to ensure that this information about you, your related research, ownership, and other financial concerns are accurate.
Doctors and teaching hospitals have the chance to review and dispute the information shared about them before we post the new and updated Open Payments data on June 30, 2016. The data we post on June 30th is now available for review through May 15, 2016. Since April 1, this is the only chance for these health care providers to dispute inaccurate or incomplete data before we post it. After that they only have until the end of the year that this financial data is published to review and dispute any payment records and how it was attributed from GPOs, drug and device manufacturers.
Any doctor or teaching hospital that wants to look at the financial information reported on them by manufacturers and GPOs can register on the Open Payments website to create an account or log if they already have an account. Visit our website for instructions and quick tips.
Last June, we posted payments and ownership interests reported in 2014 about more than 607,000 physicians and 1,122 teaching hospitals, valued at $6.45 billion. Health care practitioners and teaching hospitals were paid for items like medical research, conference travel and lodging, gifts and consulting.
The Open Payments program is one way we can give patients, their families and caregivers transparency and information that helps them:
- Become better informed health care consumers.
- Talk to their doctors and other care professionals.
If you want to learn more about the program, visit the Open Payments program website or send questions to openpayments@cms.hhs.gov
Shantanu Agrawal is the Deputy Administrator and Director of CMS’ Center for Program Integrity
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