POD Pressure: Senators Scrutinize Physician-Owned Distributorships At Hearing

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.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) vowed ongoing federal investigations of physician-owned distributorships of medical devices at a Nov. 17 committee hearing.

The distributorships – or "PODs" – purchase devices from manufacturers and resell them to health care facilities, often those where the physician owners practice medicine. The practice is most common...

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