Designated Health Services Under the Stark Law

The following are considered designated health services under the Stark Law, which was passed in 1989 to address overutilization of these services. Stark prohibits physicians from referring patients to entities with which they have financial relationships, and if a referral is barred, the entity to which the patient was referred may not bill for its services; doing so would be actionable under the False Claims Act.

• Clinical laboratory services
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Outpatient speech-language pathology services
• Radiology and certain other imaging services
• Radiation therapy services and supplies
• Durable medical equipment and supplies
• Parenteral and enteral nutrients, equipment and supplies
• Prosthetics, orthotics, and prosthetic devices and supplies
• Home health services
• Outpatient prescription drugs
• Inpatient and outpatient hospital services