FAQs

When is Open Payments data released?-

CMS is statutorily required to publish the annual data on or by June 30 of the following year in which data was collected. The Open Payments program operates on a cyclical timeline during which data is collected, submitted, reviewed and published. Each year from January 1 through December 31, reporting entities collect their Open Payments data. In the following calendar year, they submit this information to CMS. The data is then voluntarily reviewed, affirmed and if necessary disputed by the covered recipients. Finally, CMS publishes the data.

The data is refreshed at least once annually after its initial publication. For more details about the Open Payments program cycle visit cms.gov/openpayments or watch the Open Payments Overview Video.

How can I download the data?-

There are four ways to download Open Payments data:

• Download a complete set of all data for a particular program year from the Dataset Downloads page on cms.gov/openpayments. Each ZIP file includes data reported about payments made from January 1 through December 31 of the program year you select.
• To access payment type data (general payments, research payments or ownership payments) for each program year, search and download from the Datasets page on the Open Payments Search Tool.
• Payments associated with a particular covered recipient or reporting entity can be downloaded by year from the associated profile page.
• Search Open Payments to find a specific physician, teaching hospital or company you are interested in.

Why aren't all of the program years available on the search tool?-

Only results from the most recent seven years of program data are displayed. Program years that are not included on the search tool are archived and available for download on the Open Payments Archived Datasets Page.

Why do I sometimes experience a delay when waiting for search results?-

The engine is searching through large datasets with millions of rows. Depending on the criteria, some results may take a few moments to load. We appreciate your patience.

What can I do to get better search results?-

Try refining your search by:

• Adding or removing search criteria,
• Checking for spelling errors, and/or
• Eliminating leading or trailing spaces on search strings.

Is Internet Explorer (IE) 11 a supported browser?-

Internet Explorer (IE) 11 is no longer supported by any of the CMS sites, including Open Payments.

What browser(s) does the Open Payments Search Tool Support?-

For optimal user experience the two latest versions of the following browsers are supported on the desktop:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari
• Edge

The two latest versions of the following browsers are supported on mobile:

• Chrome
• Safari