Sunshine Act training is one of the many courses that medical drug vendors have to undertake before they can work with hospitals and doctors. Since this is a fairly new law, medical workers still do not have a clear picture of this Act and all that it entails. Sunshine Act training programs give you a broad outline of this new law and teach you all you need to know about its guidelines.
The training is provided by different companies and if you are a health care worker, it will be beneficial for you to take this course. Here are six main points about Sunshine Act training programs you should know.
• This legal name of the Act is the Physician Payment Sunshine Act and it was enforced in 2010. According to this act, an organization that buys or negotiates for a covered drug, medical device, or any other kind of medical-related product, will have to reveal any payments or gifts given to the physician. This law was enforced under the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act.
• All these payments and gifts have to be reported once a year to the State Department. The report will have the date of payment and amount and nature of payment. Every report will also include all the information about previous gifts received in the earlier years. The vendors must also give information about the organization's name, address, and payment amount.
• However, if the payment given is below the $10 mark, it does not need to be reported. If the yearly payments are found to be more than $100, it again has to be reported.
• Aside to the already mentioned payments, the organization must also disclose any payment made or gift given relating to a pill, biological product, or medical device which has been recently introduced in the market.
• Then there are penalties too. If an organization does not report a payment or gift, there are strict consequences. If you deliberately leave out important information from your report, that will cost you a penalty too. Penalties can be anything from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the information retained and the payment amount in consideration.
It is important for both physicians as well as medical product vendors to know the Sunshine Act thoroughly as it basically involves both these parties. Though each state may have a few differences in the guidelines, overall it is the same law governing the whole country. However, the payments and gifts given and the penalties on non-disclosure may differ from state to state.
All health care professionals must attend this training course if possible so they can be aware of what it entails. The Sunshine Act has changed the relationship within the medical industry between physicians and vendors. It had greatly reduced the number of frauds by physicians and vendors in comparison to past times. This article summarizes all the guidelines included in this Act and healthcare organizations must make sure their employees are aware of these.
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