OIG Work Plan Updates: Telehealth, Children's Vaccines, and the NIH [eBrief] | Healthicity

Get the Compliance eBrief:

OIG Work Plan Updates: Telehealth, Children's Vaccines, and the NIH

Here’s what you need to know about the work plan updates for December 2021.

Download the eBrief - OIG Work Plan Updates: Telehealth, Children's Vaccines, and the NIH

It’s no longer the holidays, but that hasn’t stopped the OIG from giving us many gifts in terms of their work plan updates. Who is ready to kick off the new year with all of the things we need to add to our notebooks? Here’s what you need to know about the work plan updates for December 2021.

  1. The OIG is interested in compliance with telehealth services (no surprise here!). As you all know, the pandemic is still in full force, and telehealth services have been on the rise since it all began in 2019. So the government created a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC). This committee will produce a report describing the types of telehealth services, including the expanded services and key program integrity risks associated with telehealth services. The report intends to offer “policymakers and stakeholders with foundational information about the nature of telehealth across select Federal healthcare programs and related program integrity risks to inform the use of telehealth in the future.”
  2. The National Institute of Health runs an awards program called the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This program is designed to assist small businesses, particularly federal research and development. The OIG has concerns about certain “areas of potential risk regarding for-profit organizations receiving SBIR awards such as inappropriate or unsupported charges to Federal awards, deficiencies in internal controls related to financial management systems, and eligibility of organizations to participate in the SBIR program.” Congress also has concerns about fraud, waste, and abuse risks in the SBIR program. This OIG Work Plan item is intended to determine whether selected SBIR awardees complied with Federal requirements.
  3. The federal government funds a no-cost vaccine for children program called Vaccines for Children, or VFC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has responsibility for running this program through policies and implementation. The CDC also purchases the vaccines and distributes them to participating providers. The OIG plans to audit whether CDC VFC grantees conducted site visits at enrolled and active VFC program providers that provide routine childhood vaccines.

If your organization is involved in any of the mentioned activities, you’re going to want a deeper dive into these issues. Download our free eBrief, “OIG Work Plan Updates: Telehealth, Children's Vaccines, and the NIH,” for the full scoop on the December 2021 updates, including:

  • Telehealth Services and Associated Risks
  • The NIH SBIR Program Concerns
  • Vaccines for Children Audits

Get Your eBrief Now