Exhibitors will use NPI information to comply with federal disclosure mandate

As part of the healthcare reform legislation signed into law in March 2010, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act requires medical device, biologic, and drug companies to track all payments and transfers of value (TOV) to U.S. healthcare providers made on or after Jan. 1, 2012.

As defined by the Sunshine Act, TOV include, but are not limited to, gifts, food and beverages, entertainment, consulting fees, and honoraria. This means companies will be required to track items handed out at their exhibit booths at meetings and conventions. The National Provider Identifier (NPI) number, a unique identification number assigned to each U.S. healthcare provider, will be used to record and track these transactions. Although you might not know it, if you have received payments from the federal government for services you provided to a patient, you have an NPI number.

To assist 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting exhibitors in complying with the federal mandate, the AAOS is requesting that Academy members and other U.S. healthcare providers supply their NPI number when registering for the meeting. The NPI will be imbedded in the bar code data on the attendee’s badge—it will NOT be printed on the badge. Exhibitors will download the NPI information by swiping the badge through a lead retrieval system so that they can record and track any reportable transactions.

AAOS Annual Meeting attendees should understand that, although supplying NPI information as part of Annual Meeting registration is voluntary, the reporting of transactions by companies under the Sunshine Act is mandatory. Beginning in 2013, companies must report any payment or TOV with a minimum value of $10/payment or cumulatively $100/year or more to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and publicly disclose the information on their websites.

For more information on the NPI at the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting—including links to the HHS public registry of NPI numbers and background information on the NPI—visit www.aaos.org/npi; for more information on the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting, visit www.aaos.org/am2012