The University of Miami's School of Medicine has become one of the first medical schools in the U.S. to launch a searchable online database of its faculty members' financial relationships with medical and pharmaceutical companies, the Miami Herald reports.
The database is searchable by faculty members' names and companies' names. It lists physicians' ties with outside companies, but not the amount of those deals. Payment amounts will be added later this year.
The database currently includes information for fiscal year 2009 and will be updated at least annually.
Alan Coukell, director of the not-for-profit Pew Prescription Project, said other medical schools that disclose similar physician information include:
- Stanford University;
- Northwestern University;
- The University of Minnesota; and
- The University of Washington.
Health Reform Law Provision
The new health care reform law's Physician Payments Sunshine section requires prescription drug, medical device and supply manufacturers to disclose to the federal government all payments of more than $10 to physicians and medical schools.
The provision takes effect in 2012, and the federal government is required to launch a searchable database by Sept. 30, 2013 (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 4/1).