Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Doctors get OK on referrals to clinics they own Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 15:45:13 EST Message-ID: \SE B;METROPOLITAN \SS (WS) \HD Doctors get OK on referrals to clinics they own \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT NORFOLK NORFOLK (AP) - Imagine you're stricken with a cancer that your physician believes should be treated with radiation. Is it ethical for the doctor to refer you to a clinic in which he is part owner? The Medical Society of Virginia answered with a qualified "yes" Saturday during the last day of its annual convention. By voice vote, the society's House of Delegates agreed to oppose laws that might prohibit doctors from getting or keeping ownership in a facility to which they refer patients. Several studies have concluded that physician ownership leads to unnecessary referrals, which drives up prices for consumers on certain procedures. Other studies show that physician ownership ensures quality care, convenience for the consumer and lower cost than found in hospitals. Outgoing society President John W. Hollowell said the practice is acceptable if patients have no other option, as occasionally occurs in rural communities, and as long as patients are told about their physician's potential to profit from the care. "We have to take a middle-of-the-road stance on this," Dr. Hollowell said. "I think it's reasonable that physicians have an ownership, but we have to be on guard for conflicts of interest." The vote on physician referral practices was a small victory for Dr. Thomas P. Butler, an Alexandria oncologist who sponsored the resolution and who also has a financial interest in two Northern Virginia treatment centers. Dr. Butler had argued that the issue was not entirely an ethical one but a question of restricting trade. He said the only people who gain from laws that restrict physician referrals are the specialists, particularly radiologists. Virginia's Joint Commission on Health Care, which sets the state's agenda on health care reform, is investigating the issue and may have a report on it by December. "I think the public's perception is that physicians shouldn't," said the commission chairman, state Sen. Stanley Walker, Norfolk Democrat. "I don't mean anything personal by that. I know a lot of fine people involved in that, but when you look at the cost of medicine today it's a question that keeps popping up." The delegates agreed to work with the commission to determine where there's a need for legislation or regulations to protect patients against inappropriate referral to doctor-owned facilities. Delegates also decided to support legislation calling for a waiting period for the purchase of handguns and to support legislation that would limit the number of handguns a person can buy in a month. The vote on guns came after a half-dozen efforts to derail it, either by sending it back to committee or rejecting it altogether. Several physicians who are gun collectors and members of the National Rifle Association argued that violence in Virginia's larger cities is committed by people who do not register guns or buy them legally and thus would not be effected by a waiting period. Proponents argued handgun violence has "become a public health problem of sufficient magnitude that physicians should speak out" to prevent needless death. The delegates also voted to endorse an increase in the cigarette tax to fund health programs and to support increased funding for AIDS awareness and detection. The society's House of Delegates is its governing body and sets policy for Virginia's physicians and gives marching orders to its powerful lobby. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM