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Take Two

Do patients lose when doctors profit in the operating room?

By Take Two Staff
Published Jun 17, 2014
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General issued a fraud alert about physician-owned distributorships. The warning contends that doctors who have a financial stake in the surgical equipment they use are at risk of abusing the Anti-Kickback Statue.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General issued a fraud alert about physician-owned distributorships. The warning contends that doctors who have a financial stake in the surgical equipment they use are at risk of abusing the Anti-Kickback Statue.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
Surgical Technician Daniela Barrio prepares equipment before a spinal surgery at Foothills Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. The surgeon Barrio was working with is not part of a physician-owned distributorship, but the practice of surgeons using implants that they have a financial interest in under scrutiny from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Surgical Technician Daniela Barrio prepares equipment before a spinal surgery at Foothills Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. The surgeon Barrio was working with is not part of a physician-owned distributorship, but the practice of surgeons using implants that they have a financial interest in under scrutiny from the Department of Health and Human Services.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
Dr. John Steinmann of Arrowhead Orthopaedics in Redlands is a proponent of physician-owned distributorships. PODs create capitalistic competition in the surgical implant device market and lowers costs to hospitals, he said. His company manufactures and distributes surgical implant devices. He acknowledges that the some doctors abuse the programs to make more money for themselves and calls for standards to increase transparency in the industry.
Dr. John Steinmann of Arrowhead Orthopaedics in Redlands is a proponent of physician-owned distributorships. PODs create capitalistic competition in the surgical implant device market and lowers costs to hospitals, he said. His company manufactures and distributes surgical implant devices. He acknowledges that the some doctors abuse the programs to make more money for themselves and calls for standards to increase transparency in the industry.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
Dr. Jose Rodriguez, left, and Dr. Scott Lederhaus perform spine surgery at Foothills Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. The surgeons are not part of a physician-owned distributorship, but contend that PODs create opportunity for surgeons to perform unnecessary procedures with financial benefits.
Dr. Jose Rodriguez, left, and Dr. Scott Lederhaus perform spine surgery at Foothills Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. The surgeons are not part of a physician-owned distributorship, but contend that PODs create opportunity for surgeons to perform unnecessary procedures with financial benefits.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
A sign at the check-in counter at Arrowhead Orthopaedics explains the financial interest the organization has in the surgical implants they use. The information is also provided in paperwork patients are required to sign prior to surgery.
A sign at the check-in counter at Arrowhead Orthopaedics explains the financial interest the organization has in the surgical implants they use. The information is also provided in paperwork patients are required to sign prior to surgery.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)

Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.

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Listen 5:56
Do patients lose when doctors profit in the operating room?

Spinal surgery has become a multi-billion-dollar industry and everyone involved is profiting, including surgeons. In the first of two reports, KPCC's Investigative Producer Karen Foshay looks at the controversy over how some surgeons are making money.

Click here to read the whole investigation and see images.