This fall, patients will be able to see what kinds of financial interactions you may have had with manufacturers of drugs and medical devices. Physicians have less than 30 days to review this information, reported by industry organizations, and make sure it’s accurate. Act now to ensure the public won’t see inaccurate financial information about you.
Now through Aug. 27, you can complete the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) three-step process to review data reported by the industry under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (also known as the Open Payments program). The process is complex and cumbersome, but it’s crucial to make sure your data is correct.
In an effort to make the confusing three-step data review process a bit clearer, the AMA has guidance on how to navigate the process. If you haven’t already, follow our instructions for step 1, step 2 and step 3 to complete the registration process and review data that has been reported about you.
CMS is giving physicians the chance to dispute any data that might be wrong, so use this opportunity.
We’re also working on a social media campaign that will offer tips for getting through the process. Check out #SunshineTips on Twitter for tidbits we’ve gathered from CMS and physicians who offer insights into the quirks they learned while going through the registration and review process.
If, after the Aug. 27 deadline, you find that the reports about you are incorrect, you can still dispute the data—but it won’t be corrected or flagged in the initial data release. CMS only refreshes the data on a yearly basis.
With less than a month to go before the deadline, now is the time to get registered and start reviewing your data so you aren’t surprised later on—and so misinformation about you isn’t available to patients.
Learn more about the kinds of financial interactions that will be reported about you—and find additional resources to help you prepare for the data review and dispute process—on the AMA’s Sunshine Act Web page.
