Physician ownership-referral arrangements in the United States

Physician ownership-investment arrangements are increasingly being subjected to public and professional scrutiny. One view is that some of these arrangements may have distinct beneficial, legitimate effects, possibly including increased availability of health care services and state-of-the-art technology. A contrasting view is that such practices are unethical and may result in excessive utilization of services and concommitant increases in medical costs. Legislation has been proposed in the United States Congress which may severely curtail or prohibit various physician ownership-investment relationships. A serious need exists for the collecting of further quantitative data on this subject.