The placement of laboratory personnel in the physician’s office has been a routine arrangement in healthcare. The arrangement has been permitted under federal law, with limitations, however various states have prohibited this arrangement. Florida has restricted this relationship by statute.
Federal regulations have been construed to allow the placement of a phlebotomist or specimen collector in the physician’s office and asserts that the placement does not necessarily serve as an inducement prohibited by the anti-kickback statute. The OIG has previously stated when permitted by state law, the statute is implicated when the phlebotomist performs additional tasks that are normally the responsibility of the physician’s office staff. The tasks can include taking vital signs or other nurse functions, testing for the physician’s office laboratory, or performing clerical services. Where the phlebotomist performs clerical or medical functions not directly related to the collection or processing of laboratory specimens, a strong inference arises in that he or she is providing a benefit in return for the physician’s referrals to the laboratory. (See OIG Special Fraud Alert, December 19, 1994).Continue reading