fee splitting

noun fee splittings · fee-splitting

1. uncountable, usually The practice, usually of questionable ethicality, by some professionals, such as medical doctors and lawyers, of sending a client to a second practitioner for an additional consultation in order to obtain another payment from the client or from his or her insurer, and in return for which the original practitioner receives a portion of the payment made to the second practitioner (a "commission" or "piece of the action"). While it is impossible to remove all financial pressures from the decision-making process, there are some practices, such as fee splitting, that are unethical because they so strongly influence practice patterns solely on the basis of financial considerations.