Physician-owned distributorships called into question

Five U.S. senators have asked the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate physician-owned distributorships, organizations that allow surgeons to profit from the medical devices they use on their patients, according to the Wall Street Journal. The senators are concerned that because orthopedic and spine surgeons often dictate which surgical devices hospitals purchase, these physicians are driving business into their own wallets, which is in violation of the anti-kickback statute and other fraud and abuse laws.