OIG Terminates Earlier Opinion on EHR Referral Fee, Concludes Fee Could Generate Improper Referrals

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) April 8 terminated a December 2011 advisory opinion (No. 11-18) that found a low risk of improper inducement of referrals from a fee arrangement in an electronically facilitated patient referral service. The OIG previously said the requesting service provider’s proposed fee discount of…