The Medicare Data Release Conundrum
Authors: Gail R. Wilensky
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Ideas and Opinions19 August 2014The Medicare Data Release ConundrumGail R. Wilensky, PhDGail R. Wilensky, PhDFrom Project HOPE, Bethesda, Maryland.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1080 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail As almost every physician in the country is now aware, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published data in early April 2014 that showed detailed information on the $77 billion that 880 000 health care practitioners billed for some 6000 types of Medicare Part B services in 2012 (1). The data release came as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request made by The Wall Street Journal and a court decision that allowed it. The decision reversed an earlier federal court injunction that the American Medical Association had secured 35 years ago preventing the release of ...References1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Historic release of data gives consumers unprecedented transparency on the medical services physicians provide and how much they are paid [press release]. Baltimore: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; 9 April 2014. Accessed at www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2014-Press-releases-items/2014-04-09.html on 5 May 2014. Google Scholar2. Institute of Medicine. Variation in Health Care Spending: Target Decision Making, Not Geography. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2013. Accessed at www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/Variation-in-Health-Care-Spending-Target-Decision-Making-Not-Geography.aspx on 5 May 2014. Google Scholar3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Physician Compare Initiative. 2014. Accessed at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/physician-compare-initiative/index.html on 5 May 2014. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Gail R. Wilensky, PhDAffiliations: From Project HOPE, Bethesda, Maryland.Note: Dr. Wilensky is a former administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and a former chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M14-1080.Corresponding Author: Gail R. Wilensky, PhD, Project HOPE, 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814; e-mail, [email protected]org.Author Contributions: Final approval of the article: G.R. Wilensky.This article was published online first at www.annals.org on 10 June 2014. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 19 August 2014Volume 161, Issue 4Page: 293-294KeywordsDecision makingDisclosureHealth careHealth care providersHealth care qualityHealth information technologyHospital medicineInformation storage and retrievalMedicareStatistical data ePublished: 19 August 2014 Issue Published: 19 August 2014 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2014 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...