The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report that shows increases in the rates of doctors ordering anatomic pathology tests when they stand to gain financially.
The report compares the growth rates of anatomic pathology services provided by dermatologists, gastroenterologists, and urologists that were self-referrals. It found that referrals for anatomic pathology services increased the year after these providers began to self-refer, from 14% to 58%, GAO said.
Between 2004 and 2010, self-referrals more than doubled, while nonself-referrals grew by slightly more than a third. In 2010, the increase resulted in $69 million charged to Medicare and 918,000 treatments that would not have occurred had these physicians been referring patients at the same rates as physicians who did not stand to benefit financially from the referral, according to GAO.
The report is the second in a series that examines the rise of self-referral. In October 2012, GAO investigated the growth of self-referral in MRI and CT services, and the agency found a similarly dramatic increase in imaging services ordered by physicians who self-refer compared to those who do not.
