Questions About Open Payments CMS Database Navigation

  • February 5, 2026 3:04 AM PST

    I want to learn more about the Open Payments CMS system for where to find physician industry payment disclosures to determine if the hospital’s physicians have accurately reported receipt of those payments. I find the database to be difficult to navigate due to the different ways to search. Can someone explain the difference between general payments and research payments? How far back do the reports and records go? Also, there are physicians that clear to have no payments recorded, but I know they have attended conferences in the previous session; it indicates that they did not record any payment received, or are there exclusions that would apply? Is there a multiple download option present so that I do not have to perform an individual search for each physician? Thank you in advance for any guidance you can provide to assist me in better understanding this process.