A Maryland state self-referral law originally passed in 1993 by the Maryland General Assembly now rests with the Maryland Court of Appeals, according to the American College of Radiology (ACR) of Reston, VA.
Intended to mirror the federal Stark law banning physician self-referral, the state law prevents doctors from referring patients for treatment or tests in which the doctor has financial gain.
The court has heard oral argument on whether it should uphold or reverse a trial judge's 2007 ruling that the state medical board properly interpreted the self-referral law.
In 2006, a coalition of orthopedic surgeons, urologists, and emergency physicians sued the State Board of Physicians, which enforces the law, claiming that it misread how the law applied to various self-referral MRI arrangements.
Maryland's court of appeals will likely deliver its opinion in the next four to six months, the ACR said.
Related Reading
Stark, raving mad? Physicians say Maryland's self-referral laws too broad, January 15, 2008
Cardiologists, orthopods boost imaging use and adoption rates, studies find, November 26, 2007
CMS to delay portion of Stark III, November 20, 2007
Same-specialty referring physicians use imaging more frequently, study says, November 8, 2007
CMS delays in-office self-referral decision with new MPFS rule, November 7, 2007
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