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.