Forecast for the Physician Payment Sunshine Act: Partly to Mostly Cloudy?
Authors: Stephanie R. Morain, Charles Flexner, Nancy E. Kass, Jeremy Sugarman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Ideas and Opinions16 December 2014Forecast for the Physician Payment Sunshine Act: Partly to Mostly Cloudy?Stephanie R. Morain, MPH, PhD, Charles Flexner, MD, Nancy E. Kass, ScD, and Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, MAStephanie R. Morain, MPH, PhDFrom the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.Search for more papers by this author, Charles Flexner, MDFrom the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.Search for more papers by this author, Nancy E. Kass, ScDFrom the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.Search for more papers by this author, and Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, MAFrom the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1683 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The Physician Payment Sunshine Act (PPSA) intends to bring greater transparency to physician–industry relationships. A reference to Justice Brandeis' observation that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” the PPSA aims to shed light on financial relationships that may compromise patient care and research integrity.Public reporting of financial relationships is already required in 4 states plus the District of Columbia, and at least 13 pharmaceutical companies now disclose information through quasi-voluntary agreements reached through settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice (1). Nevertheless, the PPSA dramatically expanded transparency, extending the scope of disclosure and the degree of ...References1. Agrawal S, Brennan N, Budetti P. The Sunshine Act—effects on physicians. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:2054-7. [PMID: 23718163] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1303523 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Kirschner NM, Sulmasy LS, Kesselheim AS. Health policy basics: the Physician Payment Sunshine Act and the Open Payments program. Ann Intern Med. 2014;161:519-21. [PMID: 25069795] doi:10.7326/M14-1303 LinkGoogle Scholar3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Open Payments: the official Website for Open Payments (the Sunshine Act). Updated 28 August 2014. Accessed at www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/National-Physician-Payment-Transparency-Program/index.html on 5 September 2014. Google Scholar4. Gorlach I, Pham-Kanter G. Brightening up: the effect of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act on existing regulation of pharmaceutical marketing. J Law Med Ethics. 2013;41:315-22. [PMID: 23581674] doi:10.1111/jlme.12022 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.. Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Programs; transparency reports and reporting of physician ownership or investment interests.Final rule. Fed Regist. 2013;78:9457-528. [PMID: 23476977] MedlineGoogle Scholar6. Hoofnagle JH, Sherker AH. Therapy for hepatitis C—the costs of success [Editorial]. N Engl J Med. 2014;370:1552-3. [PMID: 24725236] doi:10.1056/NEJMe1401508 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Kantarjian HM, Fojo T, Mathisen M, Zwelling LA. Cancer drugs in the United States: justum pretium—the just price. J Clin Oncol. 2013;31:3600-4. [PMID: 23650428] doi:10.1200/JCO.2013.49.1845 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Stephanie R. Morain, MPH, PhD; Charles Flexner, MD; Nancy E. Kass, ScD; Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, MAAffiliations: From the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.Financial Support: Dr. Morain received salary support from the Hecht-Levi postdoctoral fellowship at the Berman Institute of Bioethics. Drs. Kass and Sugarman were supported by the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research, funded by the National Institutes of Health (1P30AI094189).Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M14-1683.Corresponding Author: Stephanie R. Morain, MPH, PhD, Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, 1809 Ashland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205; e-mail, [email protected]edu.Current Author Addresses: Drs. Morain, Kass, and Sugarman: Berman Institute of Bioethics, 1809 Ashland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205.Dr. Flexner: Johns Hopkins University, 600 North Wolfe Street, Osler 503, Baltimore, MD 21287-5554.Author Contributions: Conception and design: S.R. Morain, C. Flexner, N.E. Kass, J. Sugarman.Analysis and interpretation of the data: S.R. Morain, C. Flexner, N.E. Kass, J. Sugarman.Drafting of the article: S.R. Morain, C. Flexner, N.E. Kass.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: S.R. Morain, C. Flexner, N.E. Kass, J. Sugarman.Final approval of the article: S.R. Morain, C. Flexner, N.E. Kass, J. Sugarman.Collection and assembly of data: S.R. Morain, C. Flexner.This article was published online first at www.annals.org on 30 September 2014. 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