The Sunshine Act is legally known as ‘Physician Payment Sunshine Act’. It was enforced as a law in 2010 in accordance with the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. This act specifies that the manufacturers of drugs, medical supplies, medical devices or biological products like blood, tissue, vaccines, and so on; must report or disclose any payments or gifts given to physicians and teaching hospitals.

As this is a fairly new law, not many physicians and medical professionals are aware of all that it entails. Therefore Sunshine Act training programs are made available through various training institutes. This act aims at bringing about transparency in the healthcare industry and preventing physicians and medical manufacturers from using their powers for wrong purposes.

This article will help you understand what this Sunshine Act is and what you will learn by attending a Sunshine Act training program.

– The physicians are required to provide all the information about the payments they make or receive in a yearly report that is sent by the organization to the Congress and State departments. The report must include amount paid, date of payment, type of payment, whether cash or gifts; and other such information. Even gifts and payments from the past years must be recorded in the report. The medical vendors also need to inform the agency about the name and address of organization and the amount of payment given or received.

– The medical companies will also need to provide information about any payments that may have been made relating to product development and services offered with regard to manufacture of medical device, pills, or biological products.

– The law does not require physicians to report payments lower than $10. Also, if the total amount of money exchanged between the physicians and medical vendors does not go beyond $100 in a year, it need not be reported.

– This Sunshine Act was brought in place mainly for the medical vendors and manufacturers; however, it is important that physicians also to attend the training program as they are directly involved in the dealings.

– There are severe penalties that are imposed if either of the parties fails to comply with the Sunshine Act requirements and leave out payments from their reports. The penalties or fines can range anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000. The amount of fine charged will finally depend on the value of payment that was left undisclosed.

The guidelines of the Sunshine Act may vary a little from state to state in the U.S. The rules for penalties may be different and also the minimum values of gifts and payments that must be disclosed may vary in different states. However, these five points are the foundations of this act and are common guidelines that are followed everywhere. All healthcare professionals especially physicians must understand these guidelines. Hence Sunshine Act training is essential as it helps to comply with the legal requirements and avoid severe penalties.

For more information, please visit our Texas HB300 website http://www.hipaaexams.com/sunshine-act.asp

For more information, please visit our Texas HB300 website.

For more information, please visit our Texas HB300 website http://anype.com/SURF/http://www.hipaaexams.com/sunshine-act.asp

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our Texas HB300 website.

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