AdvaMed is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services not to include data on device company payments to clinicians on its Physician Compare website.

The appeal comes in response to a comprehensive proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies. As part of the proposed rule, CMS sought stakeholder feedback on including Open Payments data on Physician Compare.

As part of a package of comments, AdvaMed says, CMS should include only general information or reference the Open Payments website on Physician Compare, which helps patients choose doctors who are enrolled in Medicare.

“[I]ncluding on Physician Compare a reference or link to the Open Payments website, as opposed to Open Payments data, is appropriate because the Physician Compare website and the Open Payments website are separate programs created for different purposes.

“As a result, information and data from the two websites cannot and should not be combined after the fact,” the group says.

In the proposed rule, CMS notes that consumers have indicated that “this level of transparency is important to them and access to this information on Physician Compare increases their ability to find and evaluate the information.”

If CMS ultimately decides to include payment data on eligible providers’ profile pages, it should ensure the data match what’s on the Open Payments website, particularly since there is a disputes and corrections policy to fix inaccuracies, AdvaMed says.

More than 2,000 Comments

The trade group was one of nearly 2,300 stakeholders across a range of industries to comment on the proposed rule.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance expressed support for a plan to develop appropriate use criteria to specify when a diagnostic imaging service should be used, but said industry should have a seat at the table in AUC development.

To ensure transparency, the group says identities of devicemakers that work with provider-led entities should be made public.

CMS defines PLE as “a national professional medical specialty society or an organization that is comprised primarily of providers and is actively engaged in the practice and delivery of healthcare.”

The association says in its comments that it agrees with this definition.

AdvaMed’s comments are available at: www.fdanews.com/091515-advamed.pdf. MITA’s may be found at: www.fdanews.com/091515-MITA.pdf. — Elizabeth Hollis