Posts Tagged ‘healthcare law’
Legal issues relating to telemedicine expected to increase
While the days of the Marcus Welby house call have, for the most part, been relegated to the history books, technology has spawned another kind of house call – telemedicine. Although the use of electronic communications between doctor and patient has been gaining ground in recent years, many barriers to treatment via telemedicine continue to…
Read MoreBundled payments: What impact will they have on your practice?
In an effort to shift payment models away from fee-for-service, more healthcare providers are being paid based on their ability to provide high-quality care in a more coordinated fashion through bundled payment arrangements. To that end, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that more than 2,100 acute care hospitals, skilled nursing…
Read MoreNew legislation regulates Florida addiction recovery residences
During the last Florida legislative session, a bill designed to clamp down on addiction recovery residences was passed with little fanfare. In June, Gov. Rick Scott signed HB 21 into law. The legislation, which took effect July 1, creates ss. 397.487 and 397.4871, F.S., which require the Florida Department of Children and Families to create…
Read MoreCompounding pharmacies in the eye of investigative storm
In the last year or so there have been a number of stories in the media about investigations into wrongdoing by compounding pharmacies, marketing companies and physicians. At last count there were nearly 100 federal investigations underway for what the feds believe are questionable financial relationships involving these three entities. In some instances, physicians are…
Read MoreFederal prosecutors increasingly target individual healthcare execs in anti-fraud efforts
Last month’s sentencing of the former president and CEO of OtisMed Corporation to two years in prison should serve as yet another example that federal prosecutors are not holding back when it comes to holding corporate executives accountable. Charlie Chi was sentenced for intentionally distributing a medical device used in knee replacement surgery despite the…
Read MoreOIG cracks down on place-of-service overpayments
Is your practice using proper place-of-service codes? If not, you’re not alone. According to a new report from the HHS Office of Inspector General, Medicare contractors may have overpaid physicians to the tune of $33.4 million for incorrectly coded services provided between January 2010 and September 2012. Why? It appears that the services were performed…
Read MoreOIG guidance for healthcare governing boards focuses on responsibility
You have probably heard the saying “The buck stops here.†Popularized by President Harry S. Truman, the phrase still holds true today for many in positions of authority. When it comes to compliance oversight in the healthcare industry, the federal government is turning its focus more than ever on boards of directors and trustees to…
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