Sunshine Act to cast a light on physician interactions with drug makers

The National Physician Payment Transparency Program aims to pull back the curtain on physician-pharmaceuticals relations.

The adoption of the Sunshine Act in the US will have an impact on the way that physicians interact with drug makers.

Made federal law as part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the legislation aims to shed light on financial arrangements between companies and doctors in order to improve the transparency of healthcare.

Specifically in cases where a physician is recommending a specific drug or medical device, patients and other doctors will be able to whether the maker has paid for the endorsement.

And according to Industry Standard Research, the act, officially known as the National Physician Payment Transparency Program, will impact on a range of activities.

Andrew Schafer, president of ISR, said: "While the channel expected to be impacted most significantly is 'group/practice-level detail sessions' where doctors and their staff typically receive free lunches, we did see a 12 per cent drop in the level of interaction expected across all 'in-person' activities."