Health Affairs, 27, no. 3 (2008): w165-w174 (Published online 18 March 2008) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.27.3.w165 © 2008 by Project HOPE	New Online   How Would Obama, McCain Cover The Uninsured?   Debating Cost Of Uninsured   Try Medicare-For-All   HA Blog Top 10

This Article Full Text (HTML) Reprint (PDF) Erratum Submit a response to this article View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Archive Download to Citation Manager Reprints & Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Gabel, J. R. Articles by Hay, J. W. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gabel, J. R. Articles by Hay, J. W. Related Collections Access To Care Business Of Health Consumer Issues Hospitals Physicians

Web Exclusives

Where Do I Send Thee? Does Physician-Ownership Affect Referral Patterns To Ambulatory Surgery Centers?

For more than three decades, Congress has struggled with potential financial conflicts of interest when physicians share in financial gain from nonprofessional services. This study asks the question: Are physicians who are leading referrers to physician-owned ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) more likely to send Medicaid patients to hospital outpatient clinics than other patients? The comparison group is physicians who are leading referrers to non-physician-owned ASCs, using data from two metropolitan areas. Findings indicate that physicians at physician-owned facilities are more likely than other physicians to refer well-insured patients to their facilities and route Medicaid patients to hospital outpatient clinics.

                      What's this?

eLetters: