News
AUGUST 2014 · VOLUME 24 & ISSUE 8
A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE GREATER LOUISVILLE MEDICAL SOCIETY
PHYSICIANS URGED
TO REVIEW PAYMENT
REPORTS
The window for Kentucky physicians to review and challenge payment reports
made by drug and medical device manufacturers under the requirements of the
Physician Payments Sunshine Act is extremely limited.
GLMS
PHYSICIANS
WELCOME
CLASS OF 2018
Manufacturers who participate in U.S. federal health care programs must officially
report payments and items of value given to physicians and hospitals under the
Sunshine Act. The implementation of this act has been charged to the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and titled the Open Payments Program.
The American Medical Association worked with CMS and fought to allow physicians the opportunity to report and dispute any corrections prior to publication.
Through AMA’s efforts, physicians have been allowed the ability to review and
challenge any reports they deem false, inaccurate or misleading, but there is a
limited time frame to do so. There are three steps which anyone interested must
complete prior to Aug. 27, 2014.
1. Complete CMS e-verification – The first step requires physicians to become
registered through the CMS website and confirm their identity.
2. Register with CMS’ Open Payments System – After e-verification is completed and physicians gain access to the CME Enterprise Portal, registration
must also be completed in the CMS’ Open Payments System.
3. Review data prior to Aug. 27 – Once registration is completed, physicians
may request their individual report, review it and flag any disputes they
see. CMS will not personally resolve disputes, but errors can be reported to
manufactures through the Open Payments System or directly through open
payments contacts listed on most manufacturer websites. Any disputes
must by initiated by mid-late August to have the data flagged in the initial
public release.
To complete the three steps above go to www.glms.org and click “Review
Manufacturer Payment Claims Before Aug. 27 Deadline”
CMS will release the data publicly on Sept. 30, 2014. After that day, physicians
may still dispute the 2013 report through Dec. 31, 2014, but the data will not be
marked as disputed in the public database until the agency updates the report
again. This could require an additional 6-12 month wait.
For more information on the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and the Open
Payments Program, visit the AMA’s FAQ page.
GLMS President Bruce Scott, MD, congratulated the
UofL School of Medicine incoming class of 2018 at the
annual White Coat Ceremony held Sunday, July 27.
Greater Louisville Medical Society physicians welcomed the class of 2018 at the annual White Coat
Ceremony on Sunday, July 27, 2014.
The ceremony, held at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, brought mentors and students together with
a sense of purpose as 157 new freshmen donned
their white coats for the first time. Thoughtfulness
and congratulations were echoed by each speaker
of the afternoon. “This is a day I hope all of you will
remember,” said GLMS President Bruce Scott, MD.
Although no white coat ceremony existed for Dr. Scott
when he began medical school, he reflected on the
importance of the day and the coat’s symbol of identity and responsibility. “When I became president of
the local medical society, I was given the opportunity
to select a portrait which would be my portrait for the
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