“Officials at the federal US Department of Justice (DOJ) continue to pursue fraud cases involving health systems that allegedly have falsely attested to complying with the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) adoption incentive programs (now known as the Promoting Interoperability Programs).”
“This is important for clinical laboratory leaders to watch, because medical labs often interface with hospital EHRs to exchange vital patient data, a key component of complying with Medicare’s EHR incentive programs. If claims of interoperability are shown to be false, could labs engaged with those hospital systems under scrutiny be drawn into the DOJ’s investigations?”
“… The Recovery Act allocated $25 billion to incentivize healthcare professionals and facilities to adopt and demonstrate meaningful use (MU) of electronic health records by January 1, 2014. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the incentive funds when providers attested to accomplishing specific goals set by the program…”
“When eligible professionals or eligible hospitals attest to being in compliance with Medicare’s EHR incentive program requirements, they can file claims for federal funds, which are paid and audited by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through Medicare and Medicaid.”
“Institutions receiving funds must demonstrate meaningful use of EHR records or risk potential penalties, including the delay or cancellation of future payments and full reimbursement of payments already received. In addition, false statements submitted in filed documents are subject to criminal laws and civil penalties at both the state and federal levels.”
“EHR vendors also have been investigated and ordered to make restitutions by the DOJ…” Read the full article here.
Source: DOJ Pursues Organizations That Falsely Claim Compliance with Medicare’s EHR Incentive Programs – By P. Schlingman, August 2, 2019. Dark Daily.
