Physicians need to keep track of any remuneration they receive from drug and device companies. The Sunshine Act, part of the Affordable Care Act, requires pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers that participate in federal health programs to report payments of value given to physicians and teaching hospitals. Manufacturers and group purchasing organizations, of GPOs, also must report certain ownership interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Manufacturers have been collecting and tracking data since Aug. 1 and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services is launching a physician portal some time soon. The portal will allow physicians the ability to receive notification when information is available for them to review and to dispute the accuracy of any reports.
The goal of the law is provide greater transparency regarding the financial relationships between manufacturers, physicians and teaching hospitals. The hope is to drive healthcare costs down by exposing conflicts of interest.
