OIG Advisory Opinion 14-03 Regarding An EHR-Facilitated Laboratory Test Referral Arrangement

On April 1, 2014, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the federal Department of Health and Human Services published the advisory opinion regarding a laboratory's arrangement with an electronic health record (EHR) services vendor. The laboratory sought the OIG's opinion on whether an arrangement in which the laboratory pays a per-order fee for each test order the vendor transmits from physicians to the laboratory complied with federal laws against paying for referrals. The OIG reviewed the arrangement, and determined that it does violate the anti-kickback statute. The opinion includes the OIG's legal analysis, conclusion . . .