Learn about running custom reports for the Pharmaceutical Code of Conduct

You can use our online database to run custom reports. Learn more about how to run them, use effective keywords, the different categories of searching, and other helpful tips.

Running custom reports

1. A new window will open that will bring you to a page that allows you to make your report selections
2. We highly recommend viewing the report in either .pdf file format or a .csv file (spreadsheet), as it will be easier to review the results
   • If you are not planning to do any further analysis of the results, the .pdf format will be the easiest to use
3. If you want to go back to your selection screen from your Report View Window, click on the purple triangle in the upper right to go back to your selection screen. Don't use the back button on your browser.
4. After you have made your selections, click on the Run Report box in the lower middle of the screen. You may see an hourglass appear. Wait a few seconds and it will disappear.
5. To view the report as a .pdf:
   1. Click on the small box with a globe in it on the upper right of the white section of the screen
   2. Click on "View in pdf format". A new window will launch that will display your report. If an hourglass appears, wait a few seconds and it will disappear.
   3. You can then save the report by either clicking on the disk icon (between the printer and envelope icons) on the top row of the report or using File -> Save As on your browser's top menu.
6. To view the report as a .csv (spreadsheet file):
   1. Click on the small box with a globe in it on the upper right of the white section of the screen
   2. Move your mouse over the fourth line View in Excel options
   3. Then click on "View in CSV format". A new window will launch that will display your report. If an hourglass appears, wait a few seconds and it will disappear.
7. If you have problems viewing the .csv spreadsheet, make sure your internet browser's security setting enables pop-ups and automatic prompting for file downloads.
   1. For pop-ups, on your browser menu click on:
      • Tools, Pop-Up Blocker, Pop-Up Blocker Settings, and add these two websites to allow pop-ups from these sites:
        • https://reporting.hhs.state.ma.us
        • https://gateway.hhs.state.ma.us
        • https://sso.hhs.state.ma.us
   2. For automatic prompting for file downloads:
      1. On your browser menu click on:
      2. Tools, Internet Options, Security, Custom, Downloads - Automatic prompting for file downloads - enable, and ok.
      3. Note: We don't recommend using the other Excel options in this instance, due to compatibility issues with some versions of certain internet browsers. The .csv file does not have these issues.
8. You can then save your report by going to File, Save As, and changing the "file type" at the bottom of the box to .csv or .xls
   1. This can be done by clicking in the "Save as type" box and typing the letter c, which will bring up the .csv option. Then you can select it either by pressing "Enter" on the keyboard or clicking on it with your mouse.
   2. Rename your file before saving it

Tips for entering keywords

• If the report requires you to enter a "keyword", type the name or part of the name (of a manufacturer or recipient) you wish to view (e.g., Pfizer, 3M, Boston Scientific, Robert Smith, Beth Israel). If you are unsure about the full name of a company or person, enter less information. For example, "Boston" if you weren't certain of the name "Boston Scientific" or "Smith" if you weren't certain if the person is listed as Robert or Bob Smith.
• Beneath the Keywords box, you have four options for how you would like the program to search for your keyword:
  • Starts with any of these keywords
  • Starts with the first keyword and contains all of the remaining keywords
  • Contains any of these keywords
  • Contains all of these keywords (default)
  • Case insensitive (default)
• If you do not want to use the default options, click on the option you prefer. Then Click on the Search button to the right of the keyword field. In the Results box below the options, you will see the covered recipients matching your criteria.
• Click on the recipient(s)/manufacturer(s) for whom you wish to see a report and click the "Insert" button. That name(s) will move over to the Choices box. If you would like to select all of the choices in the box you can click the "Select All" link at the bottom of the Results box and all of the choices will be highlighted and clicking the "Insert" button will move all of them over to the Choices box.
• Note: Only 500 choices can be displayed at a time, so you may need to be more specific if your search is too general and exceeds the limit. If you try and run a report with over 500 choices, you will receive a message that says "Prompt selection limit is exceeded, please narrow your selection" or you will see a box appear with the question, "Stop running this script?" Click on "yes".
• You can remove a recipient/manufacturer name from the Choices box by selecting that name in the Choices box and clicking the "Remove" button.
• You can do multiple searches before running your report. For example, if you do a search for "Boston" and get Boston Scientific and insert it into the choices box, but you would also like to look at 3M, then you can go back to the Keywords box and replace the word "Boston" with 3M and click search. Similarly, if you do the search on Robert Smith and insert the name into the Choices box, but you would also like to look at Beth Israel, then you can go back to the Keywords box and replace Robert Smith with Beth Israel and click Search. The Results for that search will appear and you can move any recipients/manufacturers you would like to see in your report to the Choices box. You can continue to search by specific recipient/manufacturer until you have the list you wish to see in the Choices box.
• Note: If you would like to see a large number of recipients/manufacturers, it may be best to download the entire data set into a spreadsheet (CSV).

There are 3 types of custom reports you can run:

• Payments by Category If you are looking for what types of payments a company made to any covered recipients (and the total dollar amount of those types of payments), search in Payments by Category.
• Payments Made by a Manufacturer If you are looking for all the payments a particular company made and to whom, i.e., which covered recipients (for example, doctors, hospitals, pharmacists), search in Payments Made by a Manufacturer.
• Payments Made to a Recipient If you are looking to see if a particular health care provider received any payments, search in Payments Made to a Recipient.

Note: Don't use the back button on your browser when running a report. It will take you out of the report.

Please note: You may see a category called "Virtual Hospital". It is a category used in one of the licensing databases and it will be removed in the future. It refers to a hospital.

Payments by category

The Payments by Category report allows you to look at specific types of payments made by the companies. The categories of payments collected are:

Category Number	Payment Category Name	Payment Category Description
1000	Compensation for Bona Fide Services	Consulting, Speaker's Bureaus, etc.
2000	CMEs, Third-party Conferences, or Meetings	Payments to Covered Recipients (CRs) in Conjunction with CMEs, third-party conferences and meetings
3000	Grants/Educational Gifts	Grants and Educational Gifts to CRs
4000	Food	Meals Provided to CRs
5000	Education/Training	Payments to CRs in Conjunction with education and training
6000	Marketing Studies	Payments to CRs in conjunction with research other than genuine research
7000	Charitable Donation	Donations other than donations of prescription drugs, biologics or medical devices
8000	Other	Non-exempt payments to CRs of $50 or more

The report will ask you to select a category. In the "Select Category Name" box, click on the boxes next to the categories of payments about which you would like to see information. You can select one or more categories. If you would like to see all categories, you can click on the Select All link below the box and checkmarks will appear next to all the boxes. If you click the "Deselect All" link, any checkboxes will be removed.

When the report appears, you will see all the companies that reported payments in the selected categories. The category name appears at the top of each report section. The company name and total amount reported in that category will be displayed.

Additional Resources

Detailed Instructions for Payments by Category

Payments made by a manufacturer

The report will ask you to enter a Manufacturer name as a keyword to search. See "Tips for entering keywords" above for more information.

The names of the selected companies will appear on the report, along with:

• The number of recipients to whom they gave payments
• The number of categories in which those payments were made
• The total number of events/payments for that company
• The total dollar value

If you would like more information on one of the companies, click on its name. A new window will appear and provide more detail about the payments made to specific covered recipients by that company.

If you want information reported by a company that makes a specific drug, but don't know which company makes that drug, you can use the FDA website to help find the manufacturer name.

Additional Resources

Detailed Instructions for Payments Made by a Manufacturer

Payments made to a recipient

The report will ask you to enter a Recipient name as a keyword to search. See "Tips for entering keywords" above for more information.

Tips When Searching for a Recipient

• The default options search for names that contain any of the words you enter as a keyword - wherever the keyword may appear in a name. It could be the first name, middle name, last name or within a name. For example, if you conduct a search for Massachusetts General Hospital, using the keywords "Mass General" with the default options, your results will include any recipient with a name starting with either of those words, e.g. General Electric Sensing, Mass Caregivers, etc. In this case it would be better to use the "Starts with the first keyword and contains all of the remaining keywords" option.
• If you enter Smith as your keyword and use the default options, you will receive results for any recipient whose name includes "smith" anywhere (e.g., Alice Smith, Charles Smithers, Smith College Health Services, Hammersmith House Nursing Care, etc.). However, if you enter "Smith" as your keyword and select the "Starts with any of these keywords" options, your results will not include anyone with the middle or last name Smith, or with smith as part of the last name.
• For a search of a covered recipient that is a health care facility, do not limit search option criteria too much or you will not receive all results for that facility. They are included under several license types. For example, if you search for "Mass General Hospital", using the second option "Starts with first keyword and contains all the remaining words", your results will include the hospital and its clinical lab. If you search for "Mass General", using the second option as well, the results include the hospital, the clinical lab, the imaging center, the medical group, hospital satellites, etc.
• If you search for "Massachusetts General Hospital", with the second option, the results include only the clinical laboratory (due to peculiarities of the DPH facility file names).
• When searching for a hospital it is better to use "hosp" rather than hospital as a keyword, in case the name is abbreviated in the database.

You can also choose to only see recipients that have received payments. This can be done using the lower right box, which has two options:

• Total Monetary Amount >=$. If you enter 1 in this field, you will only be shown recipients who have total monetary amounts greater than or equal to $1. If you are interested only in recipients who have received at least a somewhat larger amount (for example, $1,000), you can enter $1,000 here and will only be shown recipients whose total monetary amounts are greater than or equal to $1,000.
• Number of Payments =>. If you enter 1 in this field, you will only be shown recipients who have at least one payment.

The names of the companies will appear on the report, along with the number of recipients to whom they gave payments, the number of categories in which those payments were made, the total number of events/ payments for that company, and the total dollar value. If you would like more information on one of the companies, click on its name. A new window will appear and provide additional detail about the payments made to specific covered recipients by that company.

Additional Resources

Detailed Instructions for Payments Made to a Recipient