Sunshine Act Starts Tomorrow: What it Means for Physicians

According to an American Medical Association news release the Physician Payment Sunshine Act starts on Thursday, which will require industry to report interactions with physicians.

The interactions will then be published on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website starting September 2014. There is an exemption for reporting pharmaceutical funding of certified and accredited continuing medical education.

"We strongly urge physicians to make sure all of their financial and conflict of interest disclosures, as well as their information in the national provider identifier database, are current and regularly updated," said AMA President Ardis Hoven, MD, in an organization news release. "We also urge physicians to ask industry representatives with whom they interact to provide an opportunity to review and, if necessary, correct all information they will report before it is submitted to the government."

However, many spine surgeons still see relationships with device industry members as an opportunity to advance the field, if the relationship is structured appropriately and disclosures are made.

"I think spine surgeons working with device companies is going to continue," said Hyun Bae, MD, co-director of the spine fellowship program at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles, in a recent article with Becker's Spine Review. "It has been a rewarding and fruitful experience for spine surgeons to deliver better patient care. I still think we'll have a lot of surgeons involved in trials or testing, invention or consulting for device companies."

According to another Becker's Spine Review report, surgeons often partner with device companies on:

•    Developing new implants and devices
•    Clinical trials
•    Consulting arrangements
•    Teaching other surgeons how to use the device

According to a report in AAOS Now, payments related to research will be included on the website whether the device was cleared by the FDA or not. The report also addresses how educational materials, food and beverage allocations and continuing medical education expenses are reported when companies contribute.

Physicians have the opportunity to challenge information before its public and can dispute inaccurate report and seek corrections during a two-year period, according to the release. Physicians can register with CMS to receive a consolidated annual report starting on January 1.