Kickbacks, stark violations, client billing, and joint ventures: Facts and controversies

Many current business trends in the field of dermatopathology deserve ethical scrutiny. An important point to consider in these analyses is that which is legal is not necessarily ethical. We examine the topics of client billing, contractual joint ventures, and health information technology donations, including both the legal implications as pertaining to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, and the ethical ramifications of these practices.