MedPAC to Recommend Broad Disclosure of Industry's Financial Ties to Doctor
MedPAC to Recommend Broad Disclosure of Industry's Financial Ties to Doctor
In its report to Congress in March 2009, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) will recommend that drug and medical device makers, as well as hospitals, be required to publicly report details about their financial relationships with doctors and other healthcare providers and groups. On November 6, 2008, the commissioners approved a package of five such disclosure and reporting recommendations that are intended to discourage inappropriate deals among healthcare institutions, companies and practitioners. Another intent is for researchers to use the publicly reported information to study how financial ties among healthcare providers affect practice patterns.
MedPAC Chair, Glenn Hackbarth, said the recommendations were aimed at transparency, not condemnation, of financial arrangements in the healthcare industry. He added that if all financial links were inappropriate, MedPAC would urge their elimination.
While state disclosure laws have centered on drug company payments in the form of cash, food and gifts to doctors, MedPAC's recommendations go far beyond that. The first of the five recommendations the panel adopted calls for broad disclosure of payments that drug and device manufacturers make to doctors, pharmacists, health plans, organizations that sponsor continuing medical education, hospitals and medical schools, patient organizations and professional organizations. The second recommendation urges Congress to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to report that information on a public website searchable by manufacturer, doctor name, type of payment and other factors.
The third recommendation addresses the free drug samples drug companies widely distribute to doctors, a tactic critics say leads to unjustified prescribing of costly brand-name drugs. It urges Congress to require drug manufacturers and distributors to report to the HHS Secretary specific information about free drug samples given to physicians and physician groups. MedPAC did not recommend that a value on the free samples be reported or that the data be reported publicly, but it did recommend that the data be made available to researchers to study the impact of samples on prescribing decisions.
The last two recommendations deal with financial relationships between hospitals and doctors, and concerns that giving doctors an ownership stake in hospitals can lead to inappropriate referrals to the facility. Recommendation four calls on Congress to require hospitals and other entities that bill the Medicare program to annually report specific data on physician ownership in their businesses, except where the businesses are publicly traded organizations and to post the data on a public website. The fifth recommendation urges Congress to require that HHS submit a report on "the types and prevalence of the financial relationships between hospitals and physicians."
While MedPAC's recommendations and possible design features for a public disclosure law have manufacturers reporting on a host of financial relationships ranging from consultant payments to medical education grants, rebates and discounts given to health plans and pharmacy benefit managers were considered proprietary data not to be included for competitive reasons. MedPAC Commissioner, Thomas Dean, disagreed and called the omission "unfortunate." Also, a number of commissioners emphasized that financial ties between doctors and drug and device companies can improve healthcare by promoting product development, for example, and that these beneficial links should not be discouraged by a disclosure law.
In its report to Congress in March 2009, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) will recommend that drug and medical device makers, as well as hospitals, be required to publicly report details about their financial relationships with doctors and other healthcare providers and groups. On November 6, 2008, the commissioners approved a package of five such disclosure and reporting recommendations that are intended to discourage inappropriate deals among healthcare institutions, companies and practitioners. Another intent is for researchers to use the publicly reported information to study how financial ties among healthcare providers affect practice patterns.
MedPAC Chair, Glenn Hackbarth, said the recommendations were aimed at transparency, not condemnation, of financial arrangements in the healthcare industry. He added that if all financial links were inappropriate, MedPAC would urge their elimination.
While state disclosure laws have centered on drug company payments in the form of cash, food and gifts to doctors, MedPAC's recommendations go far beyond that. The first of the five recommendations the panel adopted calls for broad disclosure of payments that drug and device manufacturers make to doctors, pharmacists, health plans, organizations that sponsor continuing medical education, hospitals and medical schools, patient organizations and professional organizations. The second recommendation urges Congress to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to report that information on a public website searchable by manufacturer, doctor name, type of payment and other factors.
The third recommendation addresses the free drug samples drug companies widely distribute to doctors, a tactic critics say leads to unjustified prescribing of costly brand-name drugs. It urges Congress to require drug manufacturers and distributors to report to the HHS Secretary specific information about free drug samples given to physicians and physician groups. MedPAC did not recommend that a value on the free samples be reported or that the data be reported publicly, but it did recommend that the data be made available to researchers to study the impact of samples on prescribing decisions.
The last two recommendations deal with financial relationships between hospitals and doctors, and concerns that giving doctors an ownership stake in hospitals can lead to inappropriate referrals to the facility. Recommendation four calls on Congress to require hospitals and other entities that bill the Medicare program to annually report specific data on physician ownership in their businesses, except where the businesses are publicly traded organizations and to post the data on a public website. The fifth recommendation urges Congress to require that HHS submit a report on "the types and prevalence of the financial relationships between hospitals and physicians."
While MedPAC's recommendations and possible design features for a public disclosure law have manufacturers reporting on a host of financial relationships ranging from consultant payments to medical education grants, rebates and discounts given to health plans and pharmacy benefit managers were considered proprietary data not to be included for competitive reasons. MedPAC Commissioner, Thomas Dean, disagreed and called the omission "unfortunate." Also, a number of commissioners emphasized that financial ties between doctors and drug and device companies can improve healthcare by promoting product development, for example, and that these beneficial links should not be discouraged by a disclosure law.
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