Is it common/legal to receive gifts for referrals?

[von Matterhorn]

I rotated with a FM doc who works a few times a week in a FQHC. During my time there I was kind of surprised by how often chiropractors and specialists (ortho especially) were constantly coming by his practice with gifts for referrals. Usually it was things like pastries or whatever, but not too uncommonly sporting tickets and things like that were handed out with a kind of a wink and a nod understanding of where patients would be referred to. Is this common in FM, and is it even legal? The doc I was with always accepted them, even though I don't think he ever once referred a patient to a chiropractor because they brought him a doughnut. I found it kind of amusing that even as a student, they would bring me things as well for hopeful future business.

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[smq123]

I rotated with a FM doc who works a few times a week in a FQHC. During my time there I was kind of surprised by how often chiropractors and specialists (ortho especially) were constantly coming by his practice with gifts for referrals. Usually it was things like pastries or whatever, but not too uncommonly sporting tickets and things like that were handed out with a kind of a wink and a nod understanding of where patients would be referred to. Is this common in FM, and is it even legal? The doc I was with always accepted them, even though I don't think he ever once referred a patient to a chiropractor because they brought him a doughnut. I found it kind of amusing that even as a student, they would bring me things as well for hopeful future business.

It's quite common and it's legal as long as the same doctor doesn't own the referring business and the refer-ee business.

It doesn't really affect my referral pattern. A cardiologist once gave me a big bottle of wine but I stopped referring to him when a patient reported back that he had essentially called her a fat cow.

 

[smq123]

Actually, I'm surprised that the specialists even bothered coming by an FQHC. We see mostly Medicaid and uninsured patients - i.e. The patients that don't pay well so no one wants to see.

 

[deleted87716]

We get stuff occasionally, less often nowadays than in the past. It's typically something like a coffee mug or water bottle (with their logo and contact information on it), or maybe a dozen donuts or a card. More of a reminder than anything, and certainly nothing that would have any effect on our referral pattern. The most extravagant thing I've gotten is a spiral-cut ham at Christmas from one of the local orthopedic groups.

 

[deleted480308]

I rotated with a FM doc who works a few times a week in a FQHC. During my time there I was kind of surprised by how often chiropractors and specialists (ortho especially) were constantly coming by his practice with gifts for referrals. Usually it was things like pastries or whatever, but not too uncommonly sporting tickets and things like that were handed out with a kind of a wink and a nod understanding of where patients would be referred to. Is this common in FM, and is it even legal? The doc I was with always accepted them, even though I don't think he ever once referred a patient to a chiropractor because they brought him a doughnut. I found it kind of amusing that even as a student, they would bring me things as well for hopeful future business.

My doc back home would just let the front desk ladies split up the gifts that came in