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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.

Surgeons invested in physician-owned distributorships (PODs) are performing procedures involving implantable devices at a 44% higher rate than non-POD surgeons, and are trying to avoid Sunshine Act requirements, says a May 10 report released by the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate report

takes a particularly dim look at the impact of PODs on spinal surgeons, saying that the rate of spinal surgery grew three times faster for hospitals

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