Annual Compliance Program Effectiveness Evaluation
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and other regulatory bodies have stressed that…
Tuomey Landmark Stark Case Comes to an End: Lessons Learned and Tips for Compliance Officers
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it resolved the judgment against Tuomey Healthcare System. The United States…
OIG Finds More Problems With Skilled Nursing Facilities
The HHS OIG, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, and other entities have raised longstanding concerns regarding Medicare’s Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)…
Addressing Nurse Drug Problems
Huge Liabilities for Drug Impaired Nurses or Those Engaged in Drug Diversion There are 4 million active nurses in the…
OIG Issues Report Critical of OCR Oversight of HIPAA Breaches
OCR data estimates that more than 41 million people have had their PHI compromised in HIPAA privacy and security breaches.…
Ongoing Auditing Hotline Effectiveness
Health care organizations cannot afford to forgo operation of an effective hotline given the pertinent guidance from the Department of Health…
Compliance Outsourcing: What, Why, When, Where, Who, and How
One of the most significant business trends over the last decade has been to outsource functions that are not core…
Strengthening Medicaid Integrity and Closing Loopholes to Fraud
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Health held a hearing focused on improving Medicaid integrity by closing costly loop…
Data Breaches Continue To Increase
After a decade of HIPAA Privacy and Security efforts, data breaches continue to increase. The year 2015 represents a banner…
Avoid Fumbling An Investigation As It Can Be Costly
A carelessly conducted investigation can lead to avoidable mistakes that in many cases compromise the investigation and in some instances…
Why Hotline Anonymity is in Your Best Interest
Encouraging anonymity for Hotline callers may at first seem like a bad practice; however, it is a sound policy and…
Questions for Compliance Officers Preparing for ICD-10
Time is running out before the changeover to ICD-10 on October 1st 2015. Although it is the responsibility of program…