Price Fixing in Clinical Research

At the Save Our Sites (SOS) conference, many site owners expressed excitement over finally having a space to openly discuss real challenges—budgets, pricing, contracting, and the isolation of being a site owner. While the intent was mutual support, concerns quickly arose when some attendees began advocating for standardized pricing across sites (e.g., "$200 for an X-ray")—a move that borders on illegal price fixing.

Darshan raised red flags, emphasizing that while site collaboration is valuable, actions like setting uniform pricing or paying for patient referrals can violate antitrust and anti-kickback laws. Edye pointed out that many site owners, especially those without traditional academic or regulatory backgrounds, may genuinely not know these rules.

They agreed: sites need spaces for community and education, but must distinguish between support networks and collective negotiation efforts—especially since the latter may trigger legal concerns such as RICO violations or be misinterpreted as forming a union. The bottom line? Intent isn’t enough. Awareness and compliance matter.

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