There are too many unknowns here to be able to answer this. It's a valid question and concern, but one that should be directed to the hospital's compliance department, not to an internet forum. Some of the things that would have to be taken into account include why the provider did this, what their relationship to the hospital and lab is, the hospital's own policies, local and state laws and license requirements, what payer is going to be billed, if any, and what their policies are for this situation, etc. This is something that would need to be reviewed by someone on site in a compliance role who can gather all of the relevant details and make a determination.
