Doctors don’t seem to be all that worked up about the Open Payments database that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid put online last fall. The Wall Street Journal reports a MedPanel survey shows that although 72% of physicians know that the database is live, only 53% “are familiar or somewhat familiar with the law that created the database and the impact it can have on their activities.”
The database lists money the pharma industry and device manufacturers give for services like consulting or speaking. The idea was that it would be a resource because patients would be able to research financial connections between HCPs and the pharmaceutical industry.
The pharma industry was concerned that the database would provide numbers without context, triggering unnecessary concern, but the Journal says the MedPanel study shows that 54% of doctors who have looked at the database did not care if payments were reported, while 76% said the database has not changed how they do business.
