CMS publishes 2015 Open Payments data

The CMS announced the publication of 2015 Open Payments data, as well as newly submitted and updated payment records for the 2013 and 2014 reporting periods, according to a press release.

Overall, CMS noted $7.52 billion was reported by health care industry manufacturers in payments and ownership and investment interests to physicians and teaching hospitals. This amount was comprised of 11.90 million total records attributable to 618,931 physicians and 1,116 teaching hospitals. According to the report, payments in the three major reporting categories include:

$2.60 billion in non-research related payments;
$3.89 billion in research payments; and
$1.03 billion of ownership or investment interests held by physicians or their immediate family members.

“Transparency is empowering physicians to be purposeful about their financial relationships with companies, and there is a notable shift toward charitable contributions and away from other interactions, such as honoraria and gifts,” Shantanu Agrawal, MD, a CMS deputy administrator and director of the Center for Program Integrity, said in the release.

Reference:

https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.