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July 2013
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Out in the Open

Sunshine Act requires public posting of physician payments from companies that manufacture drugs and medical devices.

Question: I am a faculty physician with expertise in a field that is very sensitive to any perception of conflict of interest. For several years, I've been consulting for a company developing a medical device that shows promise for patients in my field. The company pays me for the time I spend at meetings and for providing advice. It also pays my travel expenses when I visit its headquarters in San Francisco. I disclosed the activity to the Office of Policy Coordination, and it does not conflict with my research activity. What are the implications of the Sunshine Act for my continued consulting arrangement with the company?

Answer: The purpose of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, a provision of the national health care reform law, is to inform patients and others about payments that physicians and teaching hospitals receive from drug and medical device companies. Under the act, details of any personal income or other payments, such as travel reimbursement, that such companies provide you will be posted on a publicly accessible website. Each payment will be grouped according to its purpose.

Companies must start collecting this data on Aug. 1, 2013. It will appear on a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website beginning Sept. 30, 2014. If you do not want this information shown on the CMS website, you must end your consulting relationship to ensure that you do not receive payments after the data collection period starts.

Companies, rather than physicians or teaching hospitals, will be responsible for collecting and reporting all such data to CMS. Physicians—a group that includes M.D.s and other providers who hold a degree such as a D.O. or D.D.S.—can review payment information and work with companies to correct data during a 60-day period before the information is posted. Providers who wish to review this material must register in advance with CMS and are also responsible for contacting individual companies to address any discrepancies.

Drug and medical device companies must report many types of payments to CMS for public display. For instance, indirect payments to physicians, such as sponsored research that supports part of a Johns Hopkins physician faculty member's salary, will be posted on the CMS website in a research-specific section. Payments for participating in an accredited continuing medical education activity, such as developing a course, are not included.

The act does not affect faculty members who are not physicians.

More information is available at this Office of Policy Coordination site: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Research/OPC/Policies_Regulations/Sunshine_Act. CMS maintains this informational site: http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/National-Physician-Payment-Transparency-Program/index.html.

 

 
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