Physicians have three weeks left to review and dispute reports regarding their financial interactions with manufacturers of drugs and medical devices reported under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, also known as the Open Payments program. Learn the steps you can take to review your data before it is made public.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this month announced the beginning of the program’s 45 day review and dispute period, which concludes on May 15. Disputes filed during this time will be flagged in the Open Payments data before CMS publishes the 2015 payment data and updates to the 2013 and 2014 data June 30.
You can still dispute your data after the public release, but any disputes submitted after the May 15 deadline will not be flagged for that initial release.
The Open Payments program is CMS’ effort to increase transparency and accountability in health care, but the program has seen significant issues with inaccurate data. Make sure you follow these three steps to register and review so that you can potentially dispute any inaccurate data reported and tied to your name:
- Step 1: Complete the CMS e-verification process. Test your login credentials through the CMS Enterprise Portal (EIDM). New users will be required to complete a one-time EIDM registration process. Visit CMS’ frequently asked questions Web page to troubleshoot locked accounts or other issues.
- Step 2: Register with CMS’ Open Payments system. Once you are registered within the EIDM, you can then register with CMS’ Open Payments system through the portal to gain access to your data. Registration is rather cumbersome, so make sure to follow the directions closely and allow enough time to complete it in one session.
- Step 3: Review your data and dispute any inaccuracies. After logging in to the Open Payments system, you can review and dispute your data. You should be able to follow the process of any disputes from initiation to resolution through the portal.
