On August 13, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) issued a “Memorandum Report” examining the overlap between physician-owned hospitals and physician-owned distributors (“POD”) of spinal devices. OEI-01-14-00270. The Report was a follow-up to a report issued in 2013. In its follow-up report, OIG examined the data from its original report and determined that 119 physician-owned hospitals had purchased spinal devices from a total of 12 POD’s. OIG researched the ownership of those 12 POD’s and determined that exactly one physician who had an ownership interest in both a hospital and a POD that supplied spinal devices to that hospital. Yet OIG concluded this was a “concern” for possible fraud and abuse.
Chilivis, Grubman, Dalbey & Warner has represented scores of physicians and physician practices in investigations of every type by a variety of government agencies. If you are a physician or physician practice and become the subject of a government investigation, contact us at 404-233-4171.