Corporate Compliance

Assessing physician gifts

Healthcare Auditing Weekly, January 11, 2005

When auditing physician practices to ensure that all of their contracts comply with the Stark law and the anti-kickback statute, be sure to properly assess gifts. Here are a few steps to take when assessing gifts:

  • Identify whether the organization's code of conduct lists the types of gifts physicians and employees may accept from patients and others

  • Identify whether physicians complete an annual conflict-of-interest statement

  • Review documentation for all gifts

  • Review an accounts-payable disbursement report to identify payments coded to expense accounts for gifts and marketing

  • Follow up on questionable items to determine the nature of the transactions

    To learn more about assessing physician gifts, order the book "Hospital Auditing and Monitoring: Sample Programs for Key Risk Areas ," published by HCPro, Inc. This book is a step-by-step, practical manual that offers sample audit programs for the most troublesome areas that a hospital must audit. The binder and CD-ROM are filled with actual audit programs used by auditors and compliance officers in the field. Click here for more information or to order your copy today.

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