Q&A: Watch out for anti-kickback rules when extending "professional courtesy"

April 3, 2009

Professional courtesy cannot be used as a "reward" or "incentive" to physicians, their families, or office staff for referring patients to you.

A: Indeed, there are rules to follow when extending professional courtesy. The first is that it cannot be used as a "reward" or "incentive" to physicians, their families, or office staff for referring patients to you. This violates anti-kickback rules. Other considerations:

The answer to your question is that the movie theater outing cannot be used to reward your referring physicians.