Dear Dr. Barrasso:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are writing to express our strong support for S. 2978, the
“Protect Continuing Physician Education and Patient Care Act,” which would protect the dissemination
of peer and independent third-party reviewed services and products that improve patient care. The uptake
of evidence-based medical practice is facilitated by a practicing physician’s consideration of independent
peer-reviewed journals, medical textbooks, and independent continuing medical education. When
initially considering the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, Congress specifically intended to exclude
such independent sources of clinical information so as to avoid chilling the dissemination of high quality
and actionable clinical information that had undergone independent review. Your legislation clarifies that
certain applicable manufacturer transfers of value to support independent medical educational programs
and materials are exempt from reporting under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act).
Passage of this bill is urgently needed to remedy onerous and burdensome reporting obligations imposed
by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that have already chilled the dissemination of
medical textbooks and peer-reviewed medical reprints and journals, and to avert a similar negative impact
on access to independent certified and/or accredited continuing medical education (CME). This
legislation would ensure that efforts to promote transparency do not undermine efforts to provide the most
up-to-date independent medical knowledge, which improves the quality of care patients receive.
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