Industry Experts Express Concern Over CMS Open Payments Data
- Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the first set of Open Payment data. Created as part of the Sunshine Act, the initial round of information details 4.4 million payments from pharmaceutical and medical technology companies to doctors and teaching hospitals. It contained an itemized list of $3.5 billion worth of payments to 546,000 doctors and 1,360 teaching hospitals that were made between August 2013 and December 2013.
There are a number of benefits to this database, like an improved ability to analyze payments. However, there is some concern being voiced by industry professionals which stems from the accuracy of the data. Currently, 40 percent of these payments are listed without noting who received them. This is either the result of accuracy questions on the part of CMS or because physicians named did not have enough time to verify the information.
Medical device and pharmaceutical companies were responsible for submitting the data and doctors and hospitals were given 45 days by CMS to contest the claims. Furthermore, 199,000 records were not published because of ongoing research or active disputes.
Because the database is still growing, only 26,000 physicians out of 546,000 that are registered were able to review and dispute claims, there is concern that the public could look at the information available and reach the wrong conclusions.
“You have to understand, there are many facets of the relationship between physicians and industry,” John Murphy, associate general counsel at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, told Kaiser Health News. “And they are vital to ensuring drugs get developed and get to the market.”
Linda Burns, president of the American Society of Hematology, added that the need for public transparency is important, but it is only helpful if that information is complete and accurate.
Akira Robinson, the Managing Consultant for U.K. research and consulting firm GlobalData, expressed similar sentiments over the Sunshine Act and the Open Payments database. In a press release he said that the transparency offered will be beneficial to patients but there are concerns from health care providers that need to be addressed.
“Physicians have reported that the website that allows them to review and dispute data entered on their behalf is not always functional, and that the information can be inconsistent,” Robinson said. “Even if the data is completely accurate, there may be some confusion in a layperson’s interpretation of it.”
The American Medical Association has also been voicing its opinion. AMA president Robert Wah urged CMS to push back the launch until March 31, 2015. This would have allowed more doctors time to review the data to ensure its accuracy.
CMS has acknowledged these concerns. In a conference call with reporters, CMS Deputy Administrator Shantanu Agrawal attempted to contextualize the information in the database. The goal is to provider a “balanced view of what data is and what it is not.” Patients have the right to know how their doctor is connected to ensure their prescription practices are not based on outside interests.
Agrawal added that there are several updated to the site coming over the next few months which should address the major concerns and come with fact sheets and a frequently asked questions section to improve the user experience.
