The HHS Office of Inspector General has issued a special fraud alert focused on specific attributes of physician-owned distributorships the agency believes "produce substantial fraud and abuse risk and pose dangers to patient safety."
PODs are physician-owned entities that derive revenue from selling or arranging the sale of implantable medical devices, which are ordered by the entities' physician-owners for use in procedures those physician-owners perform at their hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers.
In its alert, the OIG said it is concerned about the proliferation of PODs and views them as "inherently suspect under the antikickback statute." The OIG also listed eight specific "suspect characteristics" of PODs or physician-owners that are likely to attract more scrutiny.
The full-length special fraud alert, including those eight "suspect characteristics," can be found here (pdf).
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PODs are physician-owned entities that derive revenue from selling or arranging the sale of implantable medical devices, which are ordered by the entities' physician-owners for use in procedures those physician-owners perform at their hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers.
In its alert, the OIG said it is concerned about the proliferation of PODs and views them as "inherently suspect under the antikickback statute." The OIG also listed eight specific "suspect characteristics" of PODs or physician-owners that are likely to attract more scrutiny.
The full-length special fraud alert, including those eight "suspect characteristics," can be found here (pdf).
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