Becker's ASC Review

21 ASC MANAGEMENT Physician groups, outpatient specialty centers are under pressure: 31 closed this year By Laura Dyrda T he financial strain of COVID-19 and dwindling interest in private practice from physicians in the early stages of their careers have prompted the closings of 31 physician groups and outpatient specialty centers this year. Here's why some of those practice and clinic locations shut down: 1. Heights Hospital in Houston, which mostly had been providing outpatient and specialty care, closed in January aer its management company failed to pay rent. e physicians said they weren't notified of the closure and treated patients in the parking lot. 2. Gilford, N.H.-based Advanced Orthopae- dic Specialists announced plans to close in March aer Laconia, N.H.-based Lakes Re- gion General Hospital decided not to renew its service agreement. e practice joined Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.H., in June. 3. Northern California Medical Associates shuttered May 1, laying off 26 physicians and 151 employees. e group blamed natural disasters and financial strain for the closure. 4. Lags Medical Centers, a pain management clinic chain, closed 23 California locations in May without warning. Patients were pro- vided one month's supply of pain medica- tions and instructed to find care elsewhere. Lags also has locations in Nevada, Florida and Delaware. 5. Four independent physician practices in Shelburne, Vt., closed in May. Two of the primary care physicians retired, and two others became salaried employees of larger organizations. Jessa Barnard, executive di- rector of the Vermont Medical Society, said the closures illustrate the challenges physi- cians face in running independent practices. 6. Family Practice of Kennebunks in Ken- nebunk, Maine, closed June 30. e practice was unable to find a buyer to own and manage operations aer its two physicians decided to retire earlier this year. n National Spine & Pain Center to pay $5.1M billing fraud settlement: 5 details By Laura Dyrda A Rockville, Md.-based spine and pain center chain will pay millions to resolve Medicare fraud claims. Five details: 1. National Spine & Pain Center admitted to contracting with Proove Biosciences, a defunct genetics testing company, to pay physicians for referrals disguised as compensation for a clinical research program. 2. Proove allegedly paid National Spine & Pain Center physicians per test and per patient to complete timesheets saying they spent more time than they did with patients on clinical research. Some physicians also said they performed tasks on the timesheets when Proove employ- ees completed the tasks. 3. National Spine & Pain Centers said its team told Proove it would not provide genetic testing unless the company stayed current on pay- ments, and Proove set expectations for the physicians to order a certain number of tests. 4. Physical Medicine Associates, a physician group associated with National Spine & Pain Center, received $1.1 million from Proove, and Medicare paid Proove $4 million for the fraudulent claims. 5. National Spine & Pain Center agreed to pay $5.1 million in restitution to settle allegations that its agreement with Proove violated the Anti- Kickback Statute. n Former Yale surgeon opens adrenal surgery center By Patsy Newitt T obias Carling, MD, left his position as professor of surgery and program director of the Yale endocrine sur- gery fellowship to open an adrenal surgery center in Tampa, Fla. Dr. Carling served at New Haven, Conn.- based Yale University for more than 17 years and founded the Yale Endocrine Neoplasia Laboratory. The center, dubbed the Carling Adrenal Center, was opened in partnership with the Norman/Clayman Endocrine Institute before the pandemic began in 2020. It has since become a high-volume surgery site for adrenal tumors and cancers, a July news release said. The center offers services including meta- static adrenal cancers, benign adrenal tumors, adrenal adenoma treatments, adrenal gland removals, adrenal cancer treatments and adrenalectomy. n

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