Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The Stark Law, officially known as the Physician Self-Referral Law, is designed to prevent conflicts of interest by prohibiting physicians from referring patients to facilities or providers in which they or their immediate family members have a financial interest. However, there are certain exceptions and areas that are not covered by this law.

The correct answer indicates that the category of "physician services" is often understood to encompass a broader array of services provided to patients by physicians themselves. Under Stark Law, while physician services are impacted when looking at referrals, they generally refer to the act of referring a patient for certain types of additional services, potentially including those that fall under physical therapy, clinical laboratory, and occupational therapy. These last three categories represent areas where the Stark Law provisions are indeed applicable in terms of referral restrictions.

Understanding the scope of the Stark Law illustrates that it primarily targets referral arrangements that could lead to over-utilization of services, and while "physician services" may involve aspects of referrals, the specific prohibitions and regulations are focused on services that result from those referrals, and are thus critically examined under the law itself.