Webinar: Preparing for the Physician Payment Sunshine Implementation: Research, Marketing & Education ~ Apr 29

Newly Released Webinar:

Preparing for the Physician Payment Sunshine Implementation:
Research, Marketing & Education
April 29 | 1:00-2:30 PM ET

All transfers of value to covered recipients must be tracked by covered manufacturers starting August 1. This 90-minute webinar will provide a high-level overview of the basic requirements of the final rule for implementing the Physicians Payment Sunshine Act, before turning to many of the gray areas where manufacturers are struggling to understand what they need to track and report. This webinar will focus on the requirements for research-related activities, indirect payments, and the determination of value for many educational efforts. Industry experts will help you go beyond a cursory understanding of the rule to help their organizations determine how they will ensure compliance and avoid the costly fines.

  Overview | Register Online

Physician Payments Sunshine Act is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - from Philly Pharma's David Sell

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, all of which hangs in the balance Thursday morning when the U.S. Supreme Court will likely rule on the constitutionality of all or parts of the package.

One legal possibility is that the court could decide to defer a decision until the law is fully implemented in 2014, but the betting line has the nine justices making history, one way or another. And, yes, there is a betting line.

The Sunshine Act requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to report payments made to doctors and teaching hospitals. It is designed to give patients and others more information and shed light on potential conflicts of interest. The question is whether a doctor paid by a company is more inclined to prescribe that company's drug over a competitor's drug or no drug because of his or her financial relationship with the first company, regardless of the effect on the patient.

The Sunshine Act was the topic of a panel discussion Wednesday afternoon at the Drug Information Association's 48th annual meeting at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The meeting concludes Thursday morning.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillypharma/160627445.html#ixzz1zBXhqbbg
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Sunshine Act one of the topics at the Drug Information Association meeting

Casting more light on doctors' financial ties may be delayed

A rule in the federal Affordable Care Act could shine light on the financial relationships that doctors share with drug companies and medical device makers. People from across the biopharmaceutical industry are converging on Philadelphia this month for a Drug Information Association meeting -- and plans for the Physician Payments Sunshine Act provision are on the agenda.

The law was designed to create a website to disclose any payment of $10 or more that drug and device makers give to doctors or research hospitals.

Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat says patients would benefit from a national database to look up doctors.
"They really want their doctors to practice medicine based on the evidence rather than based on a marketing visit from a drug rep or a pharmaceutical company," he said.

Carlat leads a group at the Pew Charitable Trusts working to reduce conflicts of interest that hurt health care. He said information from within the pharmaceutical industry shows that treatment decisions can be influenced.

"When pharmaceutical companies have doctors sit in on lectures with either pharmaceutical reps or other doctors, they keep track of how those interactions affect prescribing," Carlat said.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/39331

Grassley, Kohl push Medicare on Sunshine Act

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Herb Kohl push the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to issue its final ruling on implementation no later than June. Is that enough time for medical device and pharmaceutical companies to prepare?

A bipartisan duo in the U.S. Senate is again pushing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to finalize the Sunshine Act, which requires medical device and pharmaceutical companies to file detailed reports on payments and gifts to physicians and other health care providers.
In an April 4 letter to CMS chief Marilyn Tavenner, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) said they're disappointed that CMS blew the October 2011 deadline for implementing the Sunshine Act.
"We request that the final rule on implementation be released no later than June of this year so that partial data collection for 2012 can commence," the senators wrote (PDF). "We also strongly urge CMS to work closely with stakeholders to finalize these rules to that they comprise a feasible approach to providing the valuable data that patients deserve."

for entire article,
http://www.massdevice.com/news/grassley-kohl-push-medicare-sunshine-act

Seeking Transparency on Sunshine Act

Yesterday Senators Kohl and Grassley submitted a letter to CMS seeking information on the implementation of the Sunshine Act – the legislation passed and signed into law that would put into place a system for public reporting of the financial transactions between medical product manufacturers and medical providers.  Many will recall that last fall, CMS missed the deadline for outlining its plans for how it would collect and report on financial transaction data.  At the time that prompted a letter from Senator Grassley inquiring when the agency would get around to doing so.  Yesterday, another letter went out.
“We are disappointed that regulations implementing the Sunshine Act were not complete by the statutory deadline of October 1, 2011.  We request that the final rule on implementation be released no later than June of this year so that partial data collection for 2012 can commence.”
In addition, there was some specific direction.  In the letter they urge that CMS define very specific categories for payments and urged a removal of a catchall “other” category that could serve to obscure the nature of some transactions.  In addition, the Senators took issue with the proposed yearly schedule for correcting mis-reporting to the public site stating rather that errors should be corrected as the error becomes known.

http://www.eyeonfda.com/eye_on_fda/2012/04/seeking-transparency-on-sunshine-act.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eyeonfda%2FlpWT+%28Eye+on+FDA%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

DIA 2012 Annual Meeting: Early-bird Hotel Rates Expire Friday, March 30!

Conferences & Meetings | Exhibits & Advertising | Training | Online Learning | Membership | Get Involved

Nothing Says "Innovation" Like Philadelphia! You probably already know that the Greater Philadelphia region is home to 400 life science companies, with 53,000 workers in the core life sciences industry and 310,200 workers in supporting industries. Large multinational pharmaceutical firms have major operations in the region, and many trace their regional roots back to the 19th century. That's because this region has a strong history in public health and innovation. What you may not know, is that Philadelphia is one of America's top visitor destinations. America's Favorite Cities. Philadelphia has once again been named among the top 30 of "America's Favorite Cities" based on votes of visitors and residents on a range of criteria, including culture, shopping, dining, and for the first time this year, hotels and local airports. What's the word about Philadelphia? Philadelphia's Mayor Michael Nutter can tell you! Lock into the Best Hotel Rates in Philadelphia! Take advantage of early-bird rates as low as $166, and amenities exclusive to DIA attendees. Offer expires Friday, March 30! Since you must be registered for DIA 2012 Annual Meeting to receive full access to all discounted hotels, we urge you to Register and Book Your Hotel Today! The DIA 2012 Annual Meeting includes: NEW! Preconference Program 20+ Preconference Tutorials 270+ Educational Opportunities including: European Town Hall Part 1 and Part 2 June 25 | 10:00 – 11:30AM and 1:30 – 3:00PM Discussion with Former Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) Management June 25 | 3:30 – 5:00PM Orphan Drug Development: Global Regulatory Challenges and Initiatives June 27 | 1:30 – 3:00PM Implementation of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act: Now What? June 27 | 3:30 – 5:00PM 500+ Exhibiting Companies 6 month FREE access to all Audio-synchronized Presentations Executive Program: Pioneering Partnerships And much more... View DIA 2012 Preliminary Program! Follow us on twitter at #DIA2012