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01 April 2010

Ask Mecha (hypothetical edition): Say a doctor like a psychiatrist refers a patient to a gastric surgeon for weight loss surgery, is a referral fee back to the psychiatrist standard procedure or is it an illegal kickback? If illegal, how often does it happen anyway in some form or other? Thanks!
I don't know if it's legal, but the ethics are sketchy. Your state will have a medical board, or call the attorney general's office.
posted by theora55 01 April | 15:29
I think the legality of this will depend on the state. As far as I can see from Googling, federal law doesn't prohibit specialists from paying a referral fee back to a doctor, unless that specialist is providing a narrow set of services (it looks like medical testing and medical test interpretation).
posted by muddgirl 01 April | 16:34
I know with lawyers, referral fees are legal as long as you disclose it to your client, so they know you have a financial interest in the other person taking the case. Also, only lawyers can get referral fees for referring you to other lawyers, as they are bound by professional ethics to ensure you are not getting screwed, and there's a higher professional governing body that enforces such ethics. Maybe it's the same with doctors.
posted by jabberjaw 02 April | 16:49
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