New Health Care Reform Law Mandates Immediate Patient Disclosure by Referring Physicians in Group Practices

NEW HEALTH CARE REFORM LAW MANDATES IMMEDIATE PATIENT DISCLOSURE BY REFERRING PHYSICIANS IN GROUP PRACTICES

The new health care reform law which President Obama signed into law last week brings a change that will immediately affect physicians in group practices where MRI, CT, PET, and other specified imaging services are provided.

More specifically, the new law retroactively amends the “in-office ancillary services” exception in the Federal “Stark Law” by requiring that referring physicians inform their patients in writing, at the time that they order MRI, CT, PET and other specified imaging services, that the patient can obtain the same imaging services from other providers who are unaffiliated with the group.

The new law also requires that the referring physician provide the patient with a list of alternative suppliers who can provide such imaging services in the same geographic area in which the patient resides.

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To learn more about these new requirements, please call Joel M. Greenberg, Esq. or Patrick Formato, Esq. in our Lake Success office at 516-328-2300; Scott Einiger, Esq. in our New York City office at 212-279-9200; or Richard Yarmel, Esq. in our Rochester office at 585-232-6002.

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