Open Payments Search Tool Now Includes Summary Information about Companies and Doctors; CMS releases Updated Physician Matching List
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today made a number of announcements related to the Open Payments program.
Updates to the physician and manufacturer search tool
CMS previously announced the availability of the Open Payments data search tool to allow users to search identified data for physicians, teaching hospitals, or companies making payments by name, city, state, and specialty. Now, they have enhanced their search tool so that when users search for physicians, teaching hospitals, or companies making payments, they can view detailed and new summary information about them.
This new summary data includes the total U.S. dollar value of all payments or transfers of value, and the total number of transactions associated with a particular entity.
Newly revised physician list and quick reference guide available
As we noted before, CMS has updated their data matching system, and has also issued a “master list” of covered recipients to match to. Now, CMS has updated and published a newly revised and downloadable list of physician data in CSV format. Much like the physician list that was released in October, the revised version contains variations of physician first/last name, NPI and state license number, for physicians who were reported in the Open Payments system. Due to the use of duplicate license numbers across multiple specialties in some states, the revised physician list has been updated to now include all license numbers regardless of duplication.
The Validated Physician List continues to be accessible in the Open Payments system via the CMS Enterprise Portal. CMS encourages applicable manufacturers and GPOs to utilize the provided physician list to avoid inconsistencies in data reporting.
If you are unable to find the physician on the Validated Physician List, review the information in the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) (https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/NPPES/NPIRegistryHome.do).
CMS has also made minor updates to the Quick Reference Guide: Applicable Manufacturer and GPO Removed Records Report. This document contains step-by-step instructions on the removed records re-submittal process, and a detailed explanation of the reasons for record removal. Updates made to this document are not substantive and do not affect past usage of this resource.
Coming Soon—Resources to help prepare for the 2014 program year
In the coming weeks, CMS states that they will release a video tutorial aimed at providing new and existing Open Payments users an overview of the Open Payments 2014 program timeline, updates on system enhancements, and key dates to remember for 2014 reporting.