The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the Physician Payments Sunshine Act will kick in next week, with data slated to start coming in on Feb. 18th.
The Sunshine Act, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aims to increase patient safety by boosting transparency and illuminating potential conflicts of interest between healthcare providers and big business by tracking funding.
The data received will be published on a website, set to be launched in September 2014, according to a press release.
“The Sunshine Act will help inform the public about the financial relationships between the drug and medical device industry and doctors. The disclosure of key items will be uniform. Consumers will get a much fuller picture of the industry’s financial presence in medicine than they have now. The trend toward payment transparency is good for the public and good for accountability,” Iowa Senator and Sunshine Act co-author Chuck Grassley said in prepared remarks.