In contrast to most other physician societies, the National Physicians Alliance opposes exempting journal articles and other so-called continuing medical education from Sunshine Act reporting because the group’s members say drug and medical device makers should not pay for educating doctors.
The Sunshine law requires drug and medical device companies to disclose payments and other items of value that they make to physicians. The law includes 12 exempted areas, including for educational materials that directly benefit patients or are intended for patient use, and CMS officials say medical textbooks and journal reprints are intended for doctors, not patients.
The American Medical Association and a large number of physician groups support a bill by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) that would exempt certain continuing medical education from Sunshine Act reports. The groups say S. 2978, the Protect Continuing Physician Education and Patient Care Act, “would protect the dissemination of peer and independent third-party reviewed services and products that improve patient care.” The legislation is important, the groups say, because it would make it easier to obtain independent peer-reviewed journals, medical textbooks and “continuing medical education.”
However, W. Bill Jordan, immediate past president of the National Physicians Alliance, said the medical journal publishers and companies that run continuing medical education events are doing well financially and don’t need to be exempted from reporting. He said such offers are gifts and doctors don’t need to rely on drug and device makers for them. Jordan also said journal reprints on the latest research about medication often is a backdoor way to market off-label uses to doctors. Jordan said article dissemination should be discouraged and viewed the same as off-label advertising.
Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, said pharmaceutical and device companies sponsor most continuing medical education programs because they’ve got something to sell. Zuckerman said she doesn’t think the proposal will gain traction, in large part because Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opposes it. Zuckerman has previously said she hopes the Senate will fix the House bill’s language that exempts peer-reviewed journals, journal reprints, journal supplements and medical textbooks given to doctors at continuing medical education events as well as transfers of value to physicians for certain aspects of independent CME sessions from reporting under the Sunshine Act. She doubts the Senate includes the measure in its version of the 21st Century Cures bill.