CMS Fixes Tech Glitch That Hobbled Pharma Payment Disclosures

The federal government is back online with a website where U.S. doctors and teaching hospitals can review information about payments they have received from drug and device makers, about 11 days after a government agency shut it down to investigate a data mix-up.

In a brief statement Thursday afternoon, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said: “The Open Payments system is once again available for physicians and teaching hospitals to register, review and dispute financial interaction information received from health care manufacturers and Group Purchasing Organizations.”

CMS plans to provide additional details about the program “by tomorrow.”

The Open Payments system had been taken offline Aug. 3 because CMS wanted to investigate why at least one doctor was able to see the payment data for another doctor whose records were erroneously linked.

The “Sunshine Act” provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act requires drug and device makers to report to CMS detailed information about most payments and transfers of value they make to U.S. doctors and teaching hospitals, for items ranging from meals to speaking fees.

The transparency initiative was designed to give patients more information about their doctors’ relationships with industry and to deter abuses. And it came in response to concerns that financial ties between doctors and industry may unduly influence medical research and practice.

CMS began collecting 2013 physician-payment data from companies earlier this year and in July began allowing doctors and teaching hospitals to register online to get a preview before the reported data goes public. The idea is to give them time to work with manufacturers to correct any payment data they believe are inaccurate, before CMS publishes the information in a searchable, online public database by Sept. 30. It will be the first time CMS publishes such payment data.

But the timing of the public release of the data still seems to be an open question.

CMS said last week that for each day the Open Payments system is offline, it will adjust the deadline for reviewing and disputing the payment data accordingly. Initially, the review period was scheduled to run from July 14 through Aug. 27, followed by a 15-day correction period.

If the review period is extended by 11 days to Sept. 7, that would technically still allow time for the correction period to be finished before Sept. 30. But it would be a tight turnaround. CMS previously extended the publication date by one year; the law originally intended for the data to be posted by Sept. 30, 2013.

There have been other concerns about Open Payments. Last month, a group of medical societies and industry trade groups sent a letter urging CMS to simplify the online registration process for doctors because some doctors found it overly complex. The groups also asked CMS to ensure that the proper context is presented to help the public understand why companies pay doctors.

And last week, more than 100 medical societies sent a letter to CMS asking it to delay the launch of the public Open Payments database to give doctors more time to review the data. In urging a postponement, they noted the glitch had caused the shutdown.

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Originally published on: The Wall Street Journal

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