Physician Sunshine Act now law

The Pew Prescription Project has just posted a fact sheet this new law—an excerpt:

The Physician Payments Sunshine provisions in health care reform legislation require drug and medical device manufacturers to publicly report gifts and payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals.

The Physician Payment Sunshine provisions were included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3590, section 6002) which was signed into law on March 23, 2010.

Are gifts and payments limited?
The law requires public disclosure, but does not limit financial relationships.

Who must report? How often?
All U.S. manufacturers (and other entities under common ownership) of drug, device, biologics, and medical supplies covered under Medicare, Medicaid, or SCHIP must report payments on an annual basis to the department of Health and Human Services, which will post the information on a public website. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is further required to submit annual summary reports to Congress, as well as annual reports to each state.

What sort of payments count?
The health care reform law requires disclosure of payments whether cash or in-kind transfers to all covered recipients including: compensation; food, entertainment or gifts; travel; consulting fees; honoraria; research funding or grants; education or conference funding; stocks or stock options; ownership or investment interest; royalties or licenses; charitable contributions; and any other transfer of value as described by the secretary.

Click here to access the PPP fact sheet.