CMS launches Open Payments website

CMS launched its Open Payments website this week, aiming to promote transparency within the healthcare industry by disclosing payments to healthcare providers from drug and medical device companies.

 

According to the data, more than half a million clinicians and hospitals received $3.5 billion during the last five months of 2013. That figure includes things such as research grants, gifts, speaking engagement fees, and the value of ownership stakes.

 

Critics have raised concerns with the data’s accuracy and lack of context. Forty percent of the records had identifying details removed due to unresolved questions about who actually received the payment. There are also 300,000 additional records pending verification that have not been released on the website.