Take care when providing technology to physicians
Compliance Monitor, February 22, 2006
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When it comes to providing technology to physicians it's important to steer clear of compliance violations. Stark II prohibits a physician from making a referral to an entity for a health service reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid if the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship with the entity. The anti-kickback statute prohibits remuneration in exchange for making referrals.
To avoid falling into violations under these two rules, Reece Hirsch, a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, LLP, in San Francisco, recommended that hospital compliance personnel ask themselves the following questions:
Tip: If a physician can only use a system or software to access hospital medical records, then that "probably isn't remuneration," Hirsch said. However, if that technology can be put to personal use (e.g., if the hospital provides free internet access or a computer that can be used to manage the physician's practice), the arrangement may violate federal regulations.
This tip is an excerpt from Strategies for Health Care Compliance.
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