As a lab compliance officer, you have better things to do with your time than read government budget bills. But what you do need to know is that the new federal Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 includes … [Read more...]
ANTI-KICKBACK
Compliance Perspectives: New Stark Rules Offer Some Physician Kickback Relief but Not Nearly Enough
April 24, 2018
MANAGING STAFF
Compliance Perspectives: Avoid Privacy Pitfalls in Pandemic Planning & Response
March 5, 2018
Although not officially a pandemic, the 2018 flu season has been the worst in nearly a decade. So why not use it as an opportunity to review your lab's pandemic preparations—or, if you haven't already … [Read more...]
MANAGING STAFF
Compliance Perspectives: Can You Require Lab Workers to Get a Flu Shot?
February 5, 2018
Bottom Line on Top: Yes, a mandatory flu vaccination policy is legally justifiable as long as: You can show that vaccination is a necessary health and safety measure; The policy doesn't … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE
5 Common Sexual Harassment Policy Blind Spots & How to Fix Them
January 3, 2018
Recent weeks have witnessed the morphing of workplace sexual harassment prevention from legal requirement to moral imperative. And while the current fervor is a bit unnerving for employers, to the … [Read more...]
OSHA
The 10 Assumptions NOT to Make when Doing Your OSHA 300s
November 30, 2017
December is here and it's time for the logs. No, not the yule logs—the OSHA 300 logs! It's time to get the year's injury and illness records in order and start getting the OSHA 300A ready for the Feb. … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVES
CMS Finalizes Controversial PAMA Fee Schedule
November 21, 2017
It's official. Brushing aside fierce lab industry opposition, CMS has decided to go forward with its PAMA Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) in 2018. The Flawed Fee Schedule The intent of the … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVES
PAMA-Geddon: Proposed 2018 Lab Pay Rates Are a Bloodbath
October 24, 2017
There will be no delay; and And hospital labs will remain excluded from "applicable laboratories" on which supposed market rate payments for lab tests will be based. Those were the first … [Read more...]
Compliance Perspectives: Private Sector Joins the Battle against Lab Fraud
August 30, 2017
The crackdown on lab fraud has been going on for decades. But now the dynamics are changing. While federal prosecutors and private whistleblowers continue to supply most of the impetus, they have been … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE
10 Traps to Avoid When Investigating Potential Whistleblower Complaints
June 29, 2017
If one of your employees comes forward to report a billing, coding, reimbursement or other potential violation, the liability of your lab will turn on two critical questions: Is the employee … [Read more...]
CODING
False Billing of Nuclear Stress Tests at Center of $50 Million Cardio Fraud Scheme
April 25, 2017
The feds arrested a cardiologist, neurologist and four others for their role in an elaborate fraud scheme. The government contends that over a 12- year period, the defendants' New York City medical … [Read more...]
