Medtronic and the U.S. Sunshine Act
Medtronic has taken a leadership role to promote transparency into the collaboration between physicians and industry. In 2008, we supported legislation that would require industry-wide reporting of physician compensation, known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Congress passed a version of the Sunshine legislation in 2010 in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
As part of our commitment to transparency, we voluntarily track and publicly post payment data for certain services as part of our Physician Collaboration Initiative. Click here to read more.
The “Sunshine Act” requires Medtronic and all other life science manufacturers to report to the federal government payments and other “transfers of value” to U.S. physicians and teaching hospitals. Transfers of value include, among other things, meals or lodging costs associated with education programs and other lawful courtesies provided in the course of doing business, compensation for consulting services, royalty payments and others.
The Sunshine Act originally required tracking payments and transfers of value beginning January 1, 2012. Due to the delay in finalizing regulations, the start date of the first official tracking period has been postponed to a date yet to be determined. If reporting of any 2012 data is required, manufacturers must submit that data to the government by March 31, 2013.
Data will be maintained in a government database and will be available to the public online starting in September 2013.
More information about Medtronic’s process for tracking and reporting payments will be available after Sunshine Act regulations have been finalized.
For more information on Medtronic and the Sunshine Act, please contact us.