Glitch Temporarily Shut Down Open Payments

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

CMS had to suspend Open Payments after a glitch confused doctors of the same name.

David E. Mann, a Louisville, KY, electrophysiologist, was surprised to log into the Open Payments website to find not only his own payment records, but also the records of another physician with the same name. MedPageToday reports Mann’s records included payment information for another David E. Mann, an oncologist in Crestview, FL.

"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 spokesman Aaron Albright said in an email late Sunday. "To protect physician privacy and correct the issue, we have taken the system offline temporarily and will work with the industry to eliminate incorrect payment records."

“It’s unbelievable that they would lump together docs from different states with different NPIs,” Mann said by email, referring to the unique identifiers for each doctor. “After going through such a process verifying who you are, it’s ridiculous that they then ignore the identifying data.”

The records in question came from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. "We are committed to accurate reporting of all physician payments," the company said in a statement. "We take any concerns raised seriously and are committed to addressing them quickly." The company was quick to point out that the 45-day window in which physicians can dispute payments is intended to catch errors such as this before public posting.

Already doctors had concerns about the online database with more than 20 organizations sending a letter to CMS earlier this month asking the agency to elaborate on just how the information would be used.