Healthicity Blog

1. Retina surgeon’s AMD regimen at center of Medicare fraud case: Earlier this month, a jury convicted West Palm Beach retina surgeon Solomon Melgen, MD, on 67 counts of Medicare fraud.

It’s always interesting to hear a doctor’s perspective on compliance, but it’s even more interesting when that doctor happens to be the OIG’s Chief Medical Officer. I had the pleasure of hearing her, Julie Taitsman, MD, JD, speak at the HCCA’s Regional Compliance Conference this May in New York...

Often, compliance officers are left alone in their own department to do their own things. It can become a little isolating. So, it’s always important to find a trusted person to talk with about compliance issues.

Compliance officers have a lot to juggle. Incident management, internal auditing and monitoring, and enforcing standards, are just a few of the things you need to master. Plus, it seems like new guidelines are emerging from every corner.

1. Missouri Hospitals to pay U.S. $34m to settle alleged false claims: Two Southwest Missouri health care providers have agreed to pay the United States $34,000,000 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring...

“…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.