AMA guide for media reporting on "open payments" data release

The American Medical Association (AMA) is committed to transparency and supports the release of data that can help improve quality of care for patients, including information about physician's financial interactions with the industry which could help promote understanding and trust and strengthen the patient-physician relationship. For that reason, the AMA supported the Sunshine Act when it was passed by Congress. However, because of issues with the implementation of the law, the AMA believes that certain safeguards are needed to ensure the information is depicted correctly and in context to be useful for patients and fair to physicians. Thus, the AMA strongly encourages media to consider the following in their coverage to ensure data is indeed presented in an accurate and informative way to help patients understand and interpret the information correctly.