Archive for November 2015
Government cracks down on pharmacies, home health agencies, medical directors for medically unnecessary services
It’s no secret that in recent years the number of healthcare fraud investigations and prosecutions in the U.S. has rocketed. Clearly, the amount of taxpayer dollars being lost to fraud and abuse, coupled with the potential for big payoffs when fraud is detected, is a great motivator. Every year that the government racks up successful…
Read MoreDoctor, patient frustration over pain med access leads to pharmacy rule change
The Florida Board of Pharmacy recently approved a rule change designed to help patients get the pain medications they need. The rule, which grew out of claims from frustrated patients and their physicians, is aimed at training pharmacists to change the way they look at prescribing controlled substances – from one of finding reasons to…
Read MoreRenewed efforts underway to allow ARNPs and PAs to prescribe controlled substances
There’s another effort afoot in Tallahassee to allow Physician Assistants (PA) and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP) to write prescriptions. Rep. Cary Pigman, a Republican from Avon Park, has filed a bill (HB 423) that would allow these practitioners to prescribe controlled substances without the direct supervision of a physician, something they are prohibited from…
Read MoreFeds to increase exclusion and civil monetary penalty enforcement cases
When it comes to exclusion and civil monetary penalty cases, the federal government is preparing to take an even harder line than in the past. During the recent Health Care Compliance Association’s Healthcare Enforcement Compliance Institute, Gregory Demske, chief counsel at the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, told an audience his agency…
Read MoreOIG opinion: Free transportation doesn’t violate anti-kickback statute
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General recently issued an opinion stating that a large healthcare system’s free van shuttle service for patients does not violate the federal anti-kickback statute. The statute makes it a criminal offense to knowingly and willfully offer, pay, solicit, or receive any remuneration to induce…
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