Speakers at a webinar I attended this week said the Sunshine Act might chill legitimate R&D activities carried about by physicians and teaching hospitals. Meenakshi Datta, an attorney with Sidley Austin LLP, Chicago, said there's a growing concern within the health care industry that research payments from drug and device manufacturers will be misconstrued as representing physician conflicts of interest. She also said journalists might interpret some of the research payments out of context, which could cause small, investigator-led research trials to cease operations.

The webinar also featured comments from James C. Stansel, an attorney with Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, who said whistleblowers might take advantage of the payment information to file more lawsuits. "Qui tam relators might enjoy seeing payments made to physicians, and as a result, the federal docket may become fuller," he said. Under the Sunshine Act, drug and device manufacturers are required to report to CMS on payments made to physicians or teaching hospitals. The payment information will then be made available to the public.