Collaborative Arrangements With Physicians, Hospitals and Other Referral Sources | NASP Specialty Pharmacy Podcast

During this episode of the NASP Podcast, Sheila Arquette, President & CEO of NASP, speaks with Jeffrey S. Baird, JD, Chairman of the Health Care Group at Brown & Fortunato. Health care providers, including pharmacies, must play by a set of rules that non-health care providers do not have to follow. A principal reason for this is that a large portion of payments to providers comes from government programs (Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, etc.). Because tax dollars are involved, pharmacies must comply with an array of federal and state fraud laws. These laws come into play when pharmacies work with referral sources such as physicians, hospitals, home health agencies and labs. Sheila and Jeffery discuss important federal laws such as the anti-kickback statute, physician self-referral statute (“Stark”), beneficiary inducement statute, and False Claims Act. They also discuss examples of similar state laws, types of arrangements pharmacies can legally enter into with referral sources…and the types of arrangements that should be avoided.