Physician Payment Sunshine Act: AMA Reminds Members to Update Their Disclosures

The American Medical Association (AMA) is reminding physicians that reporting of financial arrangements with industry stakeholders starts today on August 1, 2013 as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act goes into effect. We have written about this with much frequency on Policy and Medicine.

The AMA states: “As the sole physician organization whose reach and depth extends across the nation, the American Medical Association (AMA) has been actively informing physicians about the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act), which will require industry to report on their interactions with physicians beginning on Thursday, August 1. As required by law, these interactions will be published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) starting in September 2014.

‘The Sunshine Act affects all physicians with a current medical license and the changes are starting now,’ said AMA President Ardis Hoven, M.D. ‘Physicians should know that pharmaceutical and medical device companies must begin tracking and reporting information on their interactions with physicians beginning August 1, and this information will soon be published online by CMS.’

‘We strongly urge physicians to make sure all of their financial and conflict of interest disclosures, as well as their information in the national provider identifier (NPI) database, are current and regularly updated. We also urge physicians to ask industry representatives with whom they interact to provide an opportunity to review and, if necessary, correct all information they will report before it is submitted to the government,’ said Dr. Hoven.”

The AMA has a Physician Sunshine Act Tool Kit to aid members in complying with the law. The kit includes a Web seminar available to all physicians. The association further urges physicians to ask organizations they have a financial relationship with for the opportunity to review and correct if necessary information that is being reported to CMS.

Starting in January 2014, physicians can register with CMS to receive a report on their activities each June for the prior reporting year. CMS also recently introduced free mobile phone applications to help physicians and businesses track financial relationships.