Medicare’s Open Payments Database Brings Transparency, Controversy

On September 30 of this year, the federal government made public any financial transactions between for-profit companies and physicians that took place during the prior year. As stipulated by the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has created the Open Payments program database, in which pharmaceutical and device manufacturers report on “transfers of value” to individuals, and the data goes up on the program’s website.

The database is huge and has too many columns to be easily viewed across even two computer screens. You can customize your view and run a search, but it’s sometimes glitchy. Still, the main goal has been accomplished: Patients—or anyone—can type in their physician’s name and find out if they have received monies (or gifts or lunches) from industry.