The OIG won't admit it, but the opioid crackdown is diverting resources from traditional Medicare fraud and waste enforcement efforts. At least that's the most likely explanation for the dramatic … [Read more...]
Enforcement Trends: Opioid Crackdown Is Diverting Resources from Traditional OIG Enforcement Activities
December 14, 2018
COMPLIANCE
Q&A on Lab Waste Management
December 3, 2018
By Dan Scungio, MT (ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ) bio Understanding the proper separation and disposal of the various waste types generated in the lab setting is an important piece of managing the … [Read more...]
WALL STREET JOURNAL WRITER
Carreyrou Captivates Lab Institute With Inside Look at Theranos Fall
October 25, 2018
The tale could be headed to movie theaters around the nation soon. It is a gripping story of a Steve Jobs-wannabe—a young Stanford dropout with a vision and more than $400 million in funding from … [Read more...]
BILLING AND COLLECTIONS
California Lab, Owner Excluded 5 Years for Medicare Screening Test Billings
October 12, 2018
Case: Billing Medicare for screening exams is illegal. The latest providers to learn that lesson the hard way is Orange, California, independent diagnostic testing facility CHJ Diagnostics, which … [Read more...]
LAB SAFETY
The Safety Interpretation
September 10, 2018
By Dan Scungio, MT (ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ) bio When hospitals were placed on OSHA's list of "high-risk" workplaces, no one had to ask why. OSHA adjusts that list based on the number of … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE
Florida Lab Pays $100K to Settle Claims of Violating Bioterrorism Law
August 22, 2018
Case: The OIG claimed that a Florida lab violated Federal Select Agent regulations by transferring a select toxin to an entity not registered to possess, use or transfer it and failing to get … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE
Where’s your lab safety manual?
August 6, 2018
By Dan Scungio, MT (ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ) bio Laboratory leadership should be committed to providing a safe working environment, and they should believe their employees have a right to … [Read more...]
BILLING AND COLLECTIONS
Insurer Accuses Florida Lab, California Hospital of Toxicology Test Billing Fraud
Case: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is suing Reliance Laboratory Testing for allegedly conspiring with California hospital Sonoma West Medical Center to create a fraudulent billing organization in a … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE
OIG Semiannual Report: Opioid Crackdown Is Making Labs a Prime Enforcement Target Once Again
July 9, 2018
Once the favorite whipping boy of federal enforcers, labs have been demanding less and less of the OIG's attention in recent years. But the newly published OIG Semiannual Report to Congress (covering … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE
Enforcement Trends: Private Insurers Are Cracking Down on the Labs that Scam Them
May 28, 2018
Once the almost exclusive domain of federal law enforcers and inside whistleblowers, the lucrative industry of going after labs for improper billing has opened to a wide range of players encompassing … [Read more...]
