POD Pressure: Senators Scrutinize Physician-Owned Distributorships At Hearing
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
A Nov. 17 Senate Finance Committee hearing advanced an ongoing investigation into the impact of physician-owned distributorships of medical devices on health care, including the concerns they raise over potential conflict of interest and risks to patient safety.
You may also be interested in...
Physicians Failing To Disclose Supplier, POD Arrangements Fuel Kickback Concerns, Senators Say
US Senate Finance Committee leaders say some physicians may have failed to disclose their physician-ownership interests in entities that offer medical supplies to the physician’s own practice, as required under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. The legislators on March 19 prodded the Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take a closer look into these arrangements.
Surgeons Using PODs To Skirt Disclosure, Kickback Rules, Senators Say
Orthopedic and other device-implanting surgeons who participate in physician-owned distributorships are circumventing Stark Law and Sunshine Act requirements to "grant themselves a steady stream of income" by ordering the most expensive implants, and performing some unneeded surgeries, says a Senate Finance Committee report released May 10. It scrutinizes the impact on spine surgeons, in particular.
Inspector General: Physician-Supplied Spinal Devices Associated With More Surgeries, Potential Cost Increase
A study by the HHS Office of Inspector General finds that use of spinal devices supplied by physician-owned distributors may lead to an increase in spine surgeries and increased costs to Medicare.