Healthicity Blog

“…let me be clear: healthcare fraud is a priority for the Department of Justice,” is how Kenneth Blanco, acting Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, began his speech on May 18, 2017, at the Institute on Health Care Fraud of the American Bar Association.

One of my favorite sayings is that “bedside manner matters.” This comes from my background as a physician. At the end of the day, being knowledgeable doesn’t mean that you work well with people. As a compliance officer, it’s important that you work well with people.

In my newest episode of Compliance Conversations, I sat down with Attorney, Sean McKenna, for an enlightening chat about how healthcare organizations can beef up their compliance programs to avoid enforcement action.

1. Former Administrative Law Judge Pleads Guilty for Role in $550 Million Social Security Disability Fraud Scheme:

When you discuss the compliance aspect of conflicts of interests with physicians, if it’s anything like my experience, it might go something like this:

There are a lot of great tools on the market nowadays that can make your workday a lot easier. Investing in the right tools frees up a lot of your time to work on compliance issues. Instead of spending your time tracking down emails and sign in sheets.

It can be a total nightmare to figure out the definition of a “detailed” examination using 1995 Documentation Guidelines for Evaluation and Management Services. It doesn’t help that CMS has been reluctant to expand the definition. It’s frustrating, isn’t it?

Trust is a valuable currency for compliance officers. The more individuals in your organization trust you, the more comfortable they’ll feel in coming to you with compliance violations or other compliance related matters. Some view compliance officers as obstacles in their way.