Self-Referral For Profit: A Case Study

Referral for profit and physician-owned medical services have been a topic of debate since the 1980s, consequently leading to the passing of the Stark Law in 1989, which went into effect on January 1, 1992. However, this law included several exceptions. The Stark Law allows physician-owned medical services, providing these services take place on the same site as their medical practice. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) opposes physician-owned physical therapy shops (POPTS) citing that referral for profit causes a conflict of interest, and the referring physician investor is ordering treatments for financial gain instead of medical necessity. The APTA asserts that referral for profit create a negative influence on the health care industry and degrades the public opinion of physical therapy as a profession. The American Association of Surgeons supports POPTS by denying a conflict of interest exists, and referral for profit is not negatively influencing the health care industry. …show more content…
Mitchell and Scott failed in establishing a correlation between self-referral for profit and a conflict of interest.
Questionnaires were designed and set to every physical therapy practice within the state of Florida. The questionnaires requested information regarding the ownership, utilization, and financial data for the year of 1989. After reviewing the data, Mitchell and Scott completed follow-up phones to verify inconsistent information, while obtaining missing information. Phone calls were made to non-respondent clinics to ascertain ownership and the reason for their