Congress Writes CMS To Change Sunshine Rule For Textbooks

A bi-partisan group of more than two dozen members of Congress has written the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to demand the agency modify the reporting requirements of the Sunshine Act, so that medical textbooks and peer-reviewed journal reprints are excluded from the data that must be collected by drug and device makers. The move comes one month after dozens of national and medical societies - including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology - made the same request and threatened to file a lawsuit if the agency did not acquiesce. The Sunshine Act, you may recall, establishes procedures for gathering and publishing data containing financial ties between physicians, teaching hospitals and drug and device makers, as well as group purchasing organizations. The posting process is expected to begin in September 2014 and will include all ownership or investment interests held by a doctor or family member. The rule, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, was created to address rising concerns that financial relationships may unduly influence medical research and practice. Drug and device makers, and group purchasing organizations, must post payments exceeding $10 to physicians and teaching hospitals on their web sites. This would pertain to consulting fees, food and beverages and research payments for instance (here are the rules). In compiling t...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs