As we discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing story, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has received significant criticism related to issues with the Open Payments database and its plans to release the information by the end of this month despite data concerns.  The latest development is that the industry groups BIO, PhRMA and AdvaMed sent a letter this week to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner regarding continued concerns about a potential lack of “clear background information and context” related to the relationships between industry and health care professionals that will be meaningful to patients and the public as they review the data.  This has been a concern voiced by the industry groups since CMS issued the draft rules in December 2011.  The letter further states that this context is even more critical when CMS intends to post only a portion of the data submitted by manufacturers, a situation in which CMS still has not provided significant transparency.

Will CMS make the Sunshine data publicly available by September 30th as planned?  Stay tuned . . .