Explore the financial connections between drug and medical device companies and healthcare providers for research, meals, travel, gifts, and speaking fees.
Our Healthcare Provider Profiles include general payments, research payments, associated research funding, and ownership and investment interests from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments database.
Health Providers DB updates the Healthcare Provider Profiles with the Open Payments data annually.
About CMS Open Payments
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency that publishes Open Payments information annually regarding the financial relationships between drug and medical device companies (referred to as “reporting entities”) and healthcare providers (referred to as “covered recipients”), which may involve payments to providers for things including but not limited to research, meals, travel, gifts, or speaking fees.
The Open Payments Program Year 2023 data was published on June 28, 2024. Program Year 2023 includes payments or value transfers that drug and medical device companies made to certain healthcare providers between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
The most recent data publication marks the third year that the Open Payments data includes physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologist assistants, and certified nurse midwives.
Drug and medical device companies reported 15.64 million records in 2023, amounting to $12.75 billion in payments or value transfers to healthcare providers.
Payment Types
General Payment
General Payments that are not associated with a research study.
Research Payment
Research Payments that are associated with a research study.
Associated Research
Associated Research Funding for a research project or study where the covered recipient is named as a principal investigator. This type of funding does not necessarily indicate that the covered recipient received direct funds from the reporting entity.
To varying degrees, the principal investigator may be involved with the research project/study. View the payment details for more information about a research payment’s covered recipient or principal investigator.
Ownership
Ownership and investment interest in companies describes the actual dollar amount invested and the value of the ownership or investment interest. Records may have one or both of these values associated with them.
This payment type will be updated with data collection for Program Year 2023. For more information, see the Calendar Year 2022 Physician Fee Schedule.
Amount Invested
The AAmountInvested is the total dollar value of the ownership interest gained by the physician (or the physician’s immediate family members) in the Applicable Manufacturer or Applicable Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) during the reporting year only. The value reported is for the entire calendar year.
Value of Interest
Value of Interest is the current cumulative value of ownership or investment interest held by the physician (or the physician’s immediate family members) in the Applicable Manufacturer of Applicable GPO as of the most recent feasible valuation date preceding the reporting date.
Please note that this amount represents the cumulative current value of all ownership or investment interests held by the physician (or the physician’s immediate family members) in the Applicable Manufacturer or Applicable GPO.
Natures of Payment
Understanding the various types of payments that must be reported is essential when analyzing Open Payments data.
Acquisitions
Buyout payments are made to covered recipients with an ownership interest in an acquired company.
Example: A drug manufacturer buys a share of ownership in a company that is at least partially owned by a physician or a physician’s immediate family member.
Charitable contribution
A payment or transfer of value made to an organization with tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Charitable contributions do not include payments or transfers of value that would be more specifically described by one of the other payment categories.
Example: A medical device manufacturer donates funds to a teaching hospital to help pay for a health education program.
Compensation for non-consulting services (e.g., faculty/speaker at an event other than a continuing education program)
Includes payments that a company makes to physicians for speaking, training, and education engagements that are not for continuing education.
Compensation for serving as faculty or as a speaker for a medical education program
Compensation for serving as faculty or as a speaker for medical education program.
Example: Drug company Y gives money to a teaching hospital to help pay for the hospital’s annual course for its physicians. The course is an update on the latest treatments for diseases.
Consulting fee
A payment that a company makes to a physician for advice and expertise about a medical product or treatment. Consulting fees are typically arranged with a written agreement between a company and a physician based on the Company’s business needs. These payments often vary depending on the consulting physician’s expertise.
Example 1: Company A has developed a drug to treat patients with a particular disease and wants advice from physicians on how to design a large study to test the drug on patients. Dr. J has many patients with this disease and has experience researching medicines that could treat this condition. Company A asks Dr. J if she would spend about 10 hours per month working with other physicians to create a new research study. Dr. J agrees and is paid for her time.
Example 2: Company B has designed a new tool for surgeons during heart surgery. At its headquarters, it pays some physicians to give the tool a “test drive” on a computer-simulated patient. The physicians are paid an hourly fee to test the tool and provide feedback on improving it. They are also paid for flights, hotel rooms, and meals.
Example 3: Company C makes a drug and invites a physician who frequently prescribes it to speak to other physicians at a local restaurant about the medicine. The physician is paid for preparation time and the time spent giving the talk.
Current or prospective ownership or investment interest
Ownership or investment interest currently held by physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership or investment interest that could potentially be held by physicians and teaching hospitals.
Example: Dr. M hears about a new antibiotic that Pharmaceutical Company F is developing. He thinks the drug might be successful and asks if he can invest in Company F. Company F agrees, and Dr. M ends up endorsing F.
Debt forgiveness
Forgiving the debt of a covered recipient, a physician owner, or the physician’s immediate family.
Example: A physician owes Company A money for medical supplies. Company A forgives the debt so the physician company can supply the supplies without payment.
Education
Payments or transfers of value for classes, activities, programs, or events that involve learning or teaching a professional skill. Examples include textbooks and medical journal articles.
Example: Companies that produce or sell drugs or devices for a particular medical condition may offer physicians free textbooks on the latest treatments.
Entertainment
Attendance at recreational, cultural, sporting, or other events would generally have a cost.
Example: A physician receives tickets to a local football game from a device manufacturer that owns season tickets.
Food and beverage
Example: A drug manufacturer salesperson asks to speak with a physician about a new drug. The salesperson and physician meet for lunch, and the salesperson pays for the meal.
Gift
A general category includes anything a company provides to a physician or teaching hospital that does not fit into another category.
Example: Promotional items such as clocks or flash drives with the company’s name printed.Company’s
Grant
A payment to a physician or teaching hospital to support a specific cause or activity.
Example: Company G is a medical device manufacturer. It has granted a grant to a teaching hospital for special training for physicians who want to learn more about performing surgeries to provide patients with its device.
Honoraria
Similar to consulting fees, but generally reserved for a brief, one-time activity. Another distinction is that honoraria is atypically provided for services without a set price.
Example: A medical device manufacturer representative attends a medical meeting. During the meeting, the representative asks physicians to discuss features they want to see on a particular medical device for an hour. The representative pays each physician a one-time honorarium.
Long-term medical supply or device loan
The loan of supplies or a device for 91 days or longer.
Example: A device manufacturer lends one of its devices to a teaching hospital for 120 days.
Research
Research payments cover various activities, including physician enrollment in studies for new drugs or devices. They can include direct compensation to physicians, funding for research study coordination and implementation, or payments to study participants to cover expenses associated with the study.
Example: A physician wants to study treatments for a specific ailment. Pharmaceutical Company H is interested in the results and offers funds for the physician’s incentives to recruit participants.
Royalty or license
Payments are based on sales of products that use a physician’s intellectual property.
Example: A device manufacturer may promise a certain amount of payment in royalties – 1% of all device sales, for example – to a physician who worked with the device manufacturer to invent a new product.
Space rental or facility fees
Payments for renting a space or facility (such as a teaching hospital).
Example: A drug manufacturer wants to train physicians to administer a drug. The manufacturer pays a teaching hospital to reserve space within the hospital for the training.
Travel and lodging
Any compensation for costs associated with travel, such as hotel fees, airfare, mileage, and cab fare.
Example: A medical device company offers yearly training events for physicians to use its devices on patients. The company pays for the physicians’ and hotel rooms when they travel to its headquarters for the training.
Open Payments Data Collected
The Health Providers DB includes the following details from the Open Payments database. Links to the Open Payments data are provided for reference and research.
https://www.cms.gov/priorities/key-initiatives/open-payments/data/dataset-downloads
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| NPI | The cumulative value of ownership or investment interest held by the physician or immediate family member in the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO in US dollars. |
| Value_of_Interest | The cumulative value of ownership or investment interest held by the physician or immediate family member in the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO, in US dollars. |
| Total_Amount_of_Payment_USDollars | US dollar amount of payment or other transfer of value to the recipient (manufacturer must convert to dollar currency if necessary.) |
| Program_Year | The year the payment occurred, as reported by the submitting entity. |
| Number_of_Payments_Included_in_Total_Amount | The number of discrete payments being reported in the “Total Amount of Payment.” |
| Applicable_Manufacturer_or_Applicable_GPO_Making_Payment_Name | The textual proper name of the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO making the payment or other transfer of value. |
| Name_of_Drug_or_Biological_or_Device_or_Medical_Supply_1 | The marketed name of the drug, device, biological, or medical supply. May report the marketed name of up to five products (drugs, devices, biologicals, or medical supplies) associated with the payment or other transfer of value. |
| Form_of_Payment_or_Transfer_of_Value | The method of payment used to pay the covered recipient or to transfer value. |
| Nature_of_Payment_or_Transfer_of_Value | The nature of payment used to pay the covered recipient or to make the transfer of value. |
| Product_Category_or_Therapeutic_Area_1 | Provide the product category or therapeutic area for the covered drug, device, biological, or medical supply listed concerning the payment or other transfer of value. |
| Name_of_Study | The textual name of the study for which the covered recipient is receiving this payment or other transfer of value. The textual name of the study for which the covered recipient is receiving this payment or other transfer of value. |