4th DCA: Self-Referral Bar Doesn't Apply to Services Provided Through Doctor's Separate Businesses

Physicians can provide services to patients through separate legal entities in which they have a financial interest without violating the statutory prohibition on self-referrals, a California appellate court ruled. Labor Code Section 139.3(a) prohibits doctors from referring work comp patients to other providers or entities when the referring physician has financial interest with the person receiving the referral. Labor Code Section 139.31(e) declares the prohibition on self-interested referrals doesn’t apply to services for a specific patient that are supplied by a physician’s of...