Econometrica, Inc., was recently awarded a contract by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide research, analytics, and data preparation services to support the Open Payments program.

Under this contract, Econometrica and its partner, Acumen, LLC, will prepare standing analytics and data products, analyze program compliance, and carry out ad hoc analyses and special studies as they arise.

To increase transparency, the Affordable Care Act mandated the Open Payments program to provide the public with information regarding the financial relationships between the healthcare industry—pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and distributors—and healthcare providers—physicians and teaching hospitals.

Open Payments requires applicable manufacturers and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) to annually report payments and other transfers of value made to physicians and teaching hospitals. Certain information regarding the ownership or investment interests held by physicians or their immediate family members in applicable manufacturers and GPOs must also be reported. The Open Payments mandate requires CMS to compile the submitted data, check them for accuracy, and publish the data on a public website.

Increasing transparency helps improve the public’s trust in healthcare. Econometrica worked on many projects in the past with CMS, including the Development, Implementation, and Maintenance of Quality Measures for the Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly project and the Evaluation and Monitoring of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Model 1 Initiative. Econometrica is proud to continue working to impact the quality of care.

“Our experts in data and analytics look forward to using their skills to support the Open Payments program, serving CMS and the public,” said Cyrus Baghelai, Econometrica’s President and CEO. “In the next few years, this program will likely expand exponentially. Econometrica looks forward to supporting CMS through this transition and to providing the public with more information about how healthcare providers are being compensated by the healthcare industry.”

About Econometrica:

Founded in 1998, Econometrica is a research and management organization in Bethesda, MD, established to provide public- and private-sector clients with customized program support services. Econometrica works with multiple agencies to provide high-quality, cost-effective analyses, modeling, and economic evaluations. The company consistently receives exceptional scores from its clients and believes in three principles: technical capabilities, happy customers, and business development.