OIG Enforcement Actions: Exclusions & Notable Decisions from April 2019(May 10, 2019) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), has continued its goal of enforcing its guidelines and rules upon medical providers participating in their programs. The OIG has kept pursuing its goal of protecting the integrity of its federal health… more>>
New Evidence Shows the Efficiency and Benefits of Using an Internal Whistleblower Hotline System(April 4, 2019): In December of 2018 a study was conducted by Kyle Wench (George Washington University) and Stephen Stubben (University of Utah) to examine the use and extent of internal whistleblower hotline systems within publicly traded organizations. This study was the… more>>
OIG Enforcement Actions: Notable Decisions from March 2019 (April 2, 2019) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), has continued its goal of enforcing its guidelines and rules upon medical providers participating in their programs. The OIG has kept pursuing its goal of protecting the integrity of its federal… more>>
By Paul Weidenfeld, March 4, 2016. An essential element of all compliance plans is developing and promoting “effective lines of communications.” In support of that element, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) has been urging providers to adopt anonymous compliance hotlines since 1998. CMS, on the other hand, actually requires that Fee-For-Service… more>>
Under the Affordable Care Act, medical service providers must establish compliance programs to enroll in the Federal health care programs. HHS has neither issued regulations on the core requirements of these compliance plans nor set a date for mandatory compliance. Providers, however, should consider adopting a compliance hotline program prior to the mandate not only because a… more>>
ComplianceHotline - Best Practices ComplianceHotline delivers reports to its clients one business day after it receives a call or e-mail from a complainant. What happens after the information is transferred is really up to a provider’s discretion. Best practices include following up with the complainant—if he or she provided contact information—or conducting an internal investigation.… more>>
In the compliance world, anonymous tip lines are touted as a simple and effective method to ensure that providers receive pertinent information about wrongdoing within their offices. Compliance professionals, however, have divided opinions about the trustworthiness of anonymous compliance hotline reports. An argument in favor of an anonymous reporting option is that it provides an… more>>
One of the seven steps to an effective compliance plan is to develop effective lines of communication. While it is important to foster open lines of communication within your practice, many employees may fear retribution. Hence, they may feel more comfortable reporting complaints anonymously or at least to a third party vendor. Fortunately, providing an… more>>