Audits and investigations are stressful events either with or without prior notice. Medical staff should be prepared for an unannounced visit. First Healthcare Compliance provides a sample policy that assists clients in preparing the front office. Here are some recommendations to ensure that proper steps are taken: Immediately contact your supervisor, manager and/or Compliance Officer
An increasingly important issue for many providers is the dilemma of providing care that is satisfactory to the patient while avoiding overutilization and its effect on reimbursement. Unfortunately, the patient’s perceived satisfaction may not be a result of receiving the best quality of care and in some cases may be due to inappropriate or wasteful
Medical identity theft continues to be major problem in the US with approximately 2.32 million adults or close family members falling victim in 2014. According to the Fifth Annual Study on Medical Identity Theft by the Ponemon Institute, medical identity theft is on the rise with a 21.7% increase since last year.
In 2012, approximately 49 million Medicare claims were related to screening, diagnosis or treatment of cataracts, wet acute macular degeneration and/or glaucoma. Medicare paid approximately $3.5 billion for these particular services. Review of the data using 4 National Coverage Requirements found $14 million in potentially inappropriate payments and according to 2 Local Coverage Requirements an
Just correct the problem and you will be compliant? No, but this is the first step in the right direction. According to the HHS in “A Roadmap for New Physicians – Avoiding Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse,” the following steps should be taken: Immediately cease filing the problematic bills Seek knowledgeable legal counsel Determine
