Open Payments System Is Open

We are pleased to announce that the Open Payments System is now available for all system related activity. Applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) may register and/ or recertify and begin submitting Program Year 2019 data.

Note: Beginning with the Program Year 2019 data submission window (February 1, 2020 – March 31, 2020) applicable manufacturers and GPOs are no longer able to submit records for Program Year 2013.

Data submission and attestation activities are completed through the Open Payments EIDM Portal.

If you have reported data during previous program years you will need to recertify in the system before you can begin submission activities. For more information, refer to the Registration and Recertification Quick Reference Guide.

If you have not accessed your account in the last 180 days you will need to call the Open Payments Help Desk at 1-855-326-8366 (TTY: 1-844-649-2766) to reactivate your account.

(Back to top)

Open Payments Data Submission Period

Applicable manufacturers and GPOs may begin data submission activities. Program Year 2019 data submission formally opened on February 1, 2020 and will close on March 31, 2020. Below are a few suggestions to help navigate the data submission process in a timely and accurate way.

(Back to top)

Open Payments Submission Suggestions

In preparation for Program Year 2019 data submission and Program Year 2020 data collection, please note these suggestions that may be helpful for meeting the requirements for timely, accurate, and complete reporting to Open Payments.

These and other suggestions are featured in the “Submission Suggestions” document on the Open Payments resources page https://www.cms.gov/OpenPayments/Downloads/Open-Payments-Data-Submission-Suggestions.pdf.

Review Content

Remember to verify your data for accuracy before finalizing your submission.

While submitted information may meet the requirements for data type, format, and field size, that does not necessarily mean that the contents of the fields are valid. Simple errors, such as a misspelling or abbreviation in a product name can impact the value of this data.

Review your submission to ensure that the appropriate nature of payment categories have been selected. When deciding on a nature of payment category, it may be helpful to consider the following:

Choose the Nature of Payment category that most closely describes the reportable payment or transfer of value.
The context field can be used to include additional information. The information included in this context field is published on the Open Payments website.
The assumptions statement can be used to explain any methodologies used for selecting nature of payment categories. This statement is not published and is used to explain any methodologies or unusual submissions to CMS.

Submit Early

CMS recommends beginning the reporting process early in the submission window in order to allow time for addressing any errors or issues. Starting early helps to avoid longer upload times that may occur towards the end of the submission window when the system is being used most heavily.

In order for data submission to be considered timely, both data submission and attestation must be completed by the end of the reporting window, March 31, 2020.

For additional information and resources such as the Open Payments User Guide, quick reference guides visit the Open Payments Resources page at https://www.cms.gov/OpenPayments/About/Resources.html

(Back to top)

Questions - Contact the Live Help Desk

Submit questions to the Help Desk via email at openpayments@cms.hhs.gov or by calling 1-855-326-8366 (TTY Line: 1-844-649-2766).

Beginning February 3, 2020 the Open Payments Help Desk will operate on extended hours from 8:30am – 7:30pm(ET) Monday through Friday (excluding Federal holidays).

The Help Desk refers media inquiries to CMS’ Press Office for response. To report a possible reporting violation, please contact the Compliance Team at opcompliance@cms.hhs.gov.