Wiki Physician owned labs

[Colliemom]

We have partnered with Quest, and have a physician owned lab. We are being told to bill as “office” place of service as opposed to “independent lab.” We have gone back and forth with our billing but our physicians want to see how other physician owned labs are billing. Billing with the office place of service is causing copays to be assigned against the lab work and patients do not get a copay if quest is running the lab tests because they are an independent lab.

Is this happening with your patients? How are you billing for these services?

Thanks

 

[Colliemom]

anyone?

 

[CodingKing]

Independent Laboratories only perform Lab procedures. If you perform non lab services (even if lab is the sole reason for patient encounter that day) you are not an independent lab.

 

[blancamartineau]

Independent Laboratories only perform Lab procedures. If you perform non lab services (even if lab is the sole reason for patient encounter that day) you are not an independent lab.

Question: can an POL perform labs for other practitioners who are not part of our practice? I am having patients walk in with order just to do labs. Not to see our docs. Is that okay for us just to do the lab? we are not a free standing or a reference lab.

 

[Orthocoderpgu]

I only know one thing about physician owned labs. If a physician owns a lab, and they use that lab to process labs for their own patients, that's a conflict of interest. If a physician owns a lab, there is nothing wrong with that until they use that lab for their own patients. If this is happening I see potential legal troubles in their future.