The recommendation is based on growing evidence that physician self-referral contributes to unnecessary and costly care, according to the report. Of the 2,750 physician respondents in community-based, physician-owned practices, 25.2 percent reported that their practice owned or leased equipment for laboratory services.
Overall, almost one in seven physicians reported that their practice owned or leased three or more types of equipment. Surgeons were most likely to own equipment for advanced imaging, and equipment ownership was more likely in larger practices.
CMS has acted in recent years to make physician ownership and use of some types of advanced imaging equipment less attractive by cutting Medicare reimbursements, the researchers said.
Read the study on physician equipment ownership.
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