Becker's ASC Review

42 ORTHOPEDICS Spine surgeon side gigs: Expert witness, venture capitalist & more By Alan Condon M any physicians take on nonmedical sige gigs, with real estate, investing and con- sultant opportunities being the three most common areas physicians are drawn to. Two spine surgeons shared the projects they're involved in outside of their practice, ranging from expert witness work to advocacy on Capitol Hill. Question: What side gig, if any, do you have outside of your practice? Chris Kager, MD. Lancaster (Pa.) General Health: I try to always keep learning, and I developed an interest in angel investing and ven- ture capital many years ago. I have made various investments in many verticals, and have advised companies in early strategy and raising funding. This includes companies as varied as technology startups, food and beverages, medical companies and a recent green hydrogen startup. After join- ing the Global Health Impact Fund, which is a physician-led venture fund focused on medical technology and digital health, I also decided to return to "school" and finish my MBA next month. Our first Global Health Impact Fund is almost closed at $10 million, and we will start a second fund shortly. Brian Gantwerker, MD. The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: I do a small amount of expert witness work that I find very interesting. Genuinely, it really has you keep up with current issues and boning up on medical/surgical topics, and can make you a better diagnostician. I am consulting with a medical gaming company that has built out over a half-dozen procedural and cognitive based games. Helping design an excit- ing game that could change the way residents and fellows learn has been fantastic. Lastly, I have been active in two different political action committees related to spine and neurosurgery. Physician advocacy has been so rewarding for me, and continuing to help push back against the morass of disinformation about how physicians take care of patients and facilitate patient protec- tion has been a watershed moment as I enter my midcareer years. n OIG approves rural hospital's proposed 'warranty' program for joint replacements By Carly Behm H HS Office of Inspector General on Sept. 15 issued a favorable advisory opinion for a hospital's proposed joint replacement program that would cover complications. JDSupra reported Sept. 21. The unnamed nonprofit critical access hospital, which serves a rural, eight-county region across two states, proposed a warranty program for joint replacement patients done by its two employed orthopedic surgeons. The program would be applicable if a patient develops a com- mon complication after receiving primary total knee, total hip or partial knee arthroplasty procedure. The hospital would cover up to $50,000 for qualifying treatments within 90 days after surgery. Clinical decisions would be deferred to the sur- geons. The OIG said the warranty program would implicate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and Beneficiary Inducements CMP. But, at the rural hospital, the program would have minimal risk since it incentivizes the hospital to improve health outcomes and has a low risk of inappropriate steering due to limited healthcare provider options in the area. The OIG said the advisory opinion may have limited utility for most healthcare providers who want to implement similar warranty programs. n Spine device executives face charges over alleged bribery scheme By Carly Behm T he CEO and CFO of Malden, Mass.-based SpineFrontier were charged in connection to a kickback scheme in which surgeons were allegedly bribed to use the devicemaker's products in ex- change for sham consulting fees, the Department of Justice said Sept. 7. CEO and founder Kingsley Chin, MD, and CFO Aditya Humad were indicted on one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, six counts of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Dr. Chin and Mr. Humad allegedly contracted with surgeons and agreed to pay them between $250 and $1,000 per hour for pur- ported consulting with SpineFrontier. However, the surgeons were allegedly paid for using SpineFrontier's products, and did little — if any — consulting. The duo allegedly paid each surgeon between $32,625 and $978,000 in bribes. SpineFrontier has previously faced scrutiny from the Justice Depart- ment over kickback allegations, including an $8 million scheme that ran from 2013 to 2018. Read more about that case here. n

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