CMS has temporarily suspended the Open Payments website after a physician saw payments to another physician with the same name in his records, according to a ProPublica report.
David E. Mann, MD, an electrophysiologist in Louisville, Ky., saw payments to another David E. Mann, MD, an oncologist in Crestview, Fla., in his payment record on Open Payments, according to the report.
Open Payments is an online portal where physicians can view payments drug and device makers have attributed to them. The information is scheduled to go live this fall as part of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act.
"After an assessment of the data resulting from a complaint, we discovered that a limited number of physician payment records submitted by at least one manufacturer incorrectly contained information about other physicians," CMS spokesperson Aaron Albright said in an email, according to the report. "To protect physician privacy and protect this issue, we have taken the system offline temporarily and will work with the industry to eliminate incorrect payment records."
Physicians have until Sept. 30 to view, verify and/or contest any payment information drug and device manufacturers have reported about them.
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