Nearly 100 national and state medical societies from around the United States are backing a Senate bill that would exempt drug and device makers from reporting payments made to doctors for receiving continuing medical education, or CME, sessions, medical journals, or textbooks. Among them are the American Medical Association and the American College of Cardiology.
The move is the latest push in a long-running effort to roll back requirements for reporting such payments to a federal database, which tracks financial relationships between companies and physicians. Known as OpenPayments, the database was launched in 2014 in response to concerns that financial ties between drug firms and device makers and doctors may unduly influence medical practice and research. It was included in the Sunshine Act provision in the Affordable Care Act.
But more than once over the past few years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which maintains the database, appeared to change its mind on reporting requirements for CME payments, in particular. These payments are made by manufacturers or group purchasing organizations to CME providers, which are either commercial firms or nonprofits that organize courses for physicians.
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