Jeffrey R. Carlson, M.D. of Newport News, Virginia, has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle with the government regarding his interactions with Massachusetts-based SpineFrontier, Inc. and Impartial Medical Experts, LLC (IME).
Surgeon Pays $1.75 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations
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As part of the settlement agreement, Dr. Carlson admitted that after federal health care programs paid him, he received consulting payments from SpineFrontier for the same surgical time. He further disclosed that he could not document his SpineFrontier and IME related consulting hours.
Dr. Carlson also admitted to receiving thousands of dollars in meals from SpineFrontier. SpineFrontier provided these meals to Dr. Carlson and his staff almost every time he performed a procedure with a SpineFrontier product.
Federal law prohibits individuals and entities from paying physicians in exchange for them using their devices in surgeries or other medical procedures paid for by government-funded healthcare programs.
In a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said, “This settlement continues our commitment to ensuring that doctors choose medical products solely on the basis of what is best for the patient, and not what is best for the surgeon’s pockets. For their part, manufacturers must play by the rules and compete on a level playing field.”
Lelling continued, “We will investigate any doctor, like Dr. Carlson, who accepts money from a device manufacturer simply for using that company’s products.”
Dr. Carlson is the sixth surgeon to settle with the government regarding his dealings with SpineFrontier. In March, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil health care fraud complaint against SpineFrontier, IME, and company executives alleging the companies paid over $8 million in kickbacks through “sham consulting fees.”
The U.S. alleged these consulting fees were paid to induce the surgeons to use SpineFrontier’s medical devices during spine surgeries. For OTW’s previous coverage of SpineFrontier kickback allegations, see “U.S. Attorney Sues SpineFrontier Over Alleged Kickback Scheme.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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