Recent Blog Posts
Can Medical Malpractice Be a Crime?
Medical malpractice is typically a civil matter. It can be costly–medical malpractice suits can easily lead to verdicts in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars–but doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are not usually subject to criminal prosecution. Are there circumstances, however, where medical malpractice can be punished criminally? Are physicians ever… Read More »
What is the Difference Between Fraud and Abuse in Healthcare?
Healthcare fraud and abuse are often mentioned in the same breath, and they are sometimes used interchangeably. They are, indeed, related concepts, and the effects of each for patients and others may be difficult to distinguish. There are, however, important legal distinctions between the two concepts, including the potential penalties. Continue reading for a… Read More »
Medical False Claims Act Violations That Will Be Prosecuted: Medically Unnecessary Services
False Claims Act (FCA) violations can derail your medical practice. Filing false claims with Medicare or Medicaid can lead to massive civil fines, including up to three times the loss caused to the program on top of $11,000 per false claim filed. Each instance of an item or service being wrongly billed can be… Read More »
How Improper Medical Coding Can Hurt Your Practice
One of the easiest ways for a medical practice to find itself in hot water is through medical coding errors. While some wrong codes are deliberate attempts to squeeze extra money from private or public insurers, many coding errors are simply mistakes that can arise from overworked or under-trained staff members. Even if you… Read More »
Common Medical Coding Mistakes
Proper coding is extremely important in the operation of a medical practice. Improper coding leads to improper billing, which can lead to significant liability and even criminal charges for a healthcare practice. Billing practices need to be clearly established and administrative staff must be properly trained in order to avoid costly mistakes. Not all… Read More »
Ways Healthcare Organizations Can Prevent and Detect Healthcare Fraud
The healthcare industry is subject to myriad laws and regulations and is under the purview of an alphabet soup of regulators. One of the reasons for such heavy regulation is the prevalence of fraud across the industry. Healthcare practices looking to protect their practices and avoid instances of fraud must take affirmative steps to… Read More »
Types of Healthcare Crimes: What are they?
Healthcare providers are subject to myriad laws and regulations and are required to report to an alphabet soup of state and federal regulators. A number of crimes are prevalent in the healthcare industry, many of which concern some type of fraud. Below, we identify some of the more common types of healthcare criminal activity…. Read More »
Types of Hospice Fraud
If you work in the hospice care industry, it is important to understand what may be considered hospice fraud. Because hospice deals with especially vulnerable patients, regulators and prosecutors are particularly wary of activity that could be construed as taking advantage of patients. Continue reading to learn about a few categories of hospice fraud… Read More »
Medical Corporation in California: What Are the benefits?
Many physicians looking to build a new practice are concerned first and foremost with the practice itself–finding a location, an office space, a roster of patients, providing effective service, etc. The legal structure of the practice, however, can be just as integral to its success. Below, we discuss some of the advantages of forming… Read More »
Hospital Hiring and Firing – How to Not Get Sued
On top of local, state, and federal regulations controlling every aspect of a medical practice, hospitals must also remain vigilant with regard to employment law concerns. Like any other employer, hospitals that terminate employees must take care to avoid any whistleblower, retaliation, or discrimination claims, in addition to adhering to regulations that apply specifically… Read More »