National Health IT Week wrapped up on Friday. This may have been the most eventful week in the ten year history of the event, which is organized by the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Below are a few of the highlights (each of which could likely carry its own blog post): Stage 3 …
Suing the Hand that Feeds You
October 6, 2015 Leave a Comment
Jeffrey Jacobs alleges that Idaho’s Pocatello Hospital violated the False Claims Act because of physician recruitment contracts that were overly generous to his practice group. Jeff should know because he was recruited under one of the contracts and worked for the group for three years. According to the …
Broward Health Wins Most-Illegal-Physician-Comp
September 16, 2015 Leave a Comment
Okay, there’s not really a Most-Illegal-Physician-Compensation Prize. But if there were, Florida’s North Broward Hospital District would have won in a walk. That’s why the district has agreed to pay the government $69.5 million to settle charges that it violated the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute …
Free Patient Parking May Trigger False Claims Act Violation
August 20, 2015 Leave a Comment
Who knew? When you park for free at your doctor’s office, you may be a pawn in a scheme to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, and the False Claims Act. It’s enough to make you sick. That’s one of the lessons of an August 14 federal court decision in Florida. Whistleblower Thomas …
OIG Approves Lease of Employees to Psych Hospital
July 29, 2015 Leave a Comment
On July 28 the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of Health & Human Services gave its blessing to a health system’s lease of employees to a related psychiatric system. Under the arrangement the system would also provide management services. In return, the hospital would pay the system its “fully …
Beware of Nurses Bearing Gifts
July 21, 2015 Leave a Comment
Alisia and David blew the whistle on their former employer, Nurses’ Registry & Home Health, for sending gift baskets and ticket events to doctors who referred patients to the home health operation. Their qui tam suit alleged that the gifts violated the Stark Law. The government joined in. Nurses’ …