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Each month with Laboratory Compliance Insider you get more of our exclusive working tools: model guidelines, policies, forms, etc., that you can use to comply with OIG and CMS, reduce claim denials, and get paid in full and on time.

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Laboratory Compliance Insider

Issue 12, December 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Try these eight ways to improve your quality control compliance

  CLIA requires laboratories to use quality control (QC) procedures to find errors caused by test...

• New federal proposals may grab lab attention

  Laboratories with an interest in the debate about providing free equipment to referral sources may...

• Competitive bidding demo may become a reality

  CMS has introduced the possibility of competitive bidding for labs in the past, but has never made...

Issue 11, November 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Consider the compliance risks and benefits of electronic test ordering

  Labs may consider using electronic ordering systems to improve patient safety and compliance with...

• Seven ideas for more effective compliance training

  The OIG makes it clear in its 1998 Compliance Program Guidance for Clinical Laboratories that all...

Issue 10, October 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• When and how to reject specimens that are not properly identified

  Proper specimen identification and labeling is critical for patient safety. However, the pressure...

• JCAHO tracers visit labs accredited by others

  If the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) surveys your hospital...

• A look at your role in tracking medical necessity

  Laboratories are seeing an increase in denials related to medical necessity, even for legitimate...

Issue 9, September 2, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Six tips to improve communication about compliance within your lab

  Without effective communication, your lab can run into compliance problems. Your staff need to know...

• CMS allows alcohol-based hand gels in hallways

  Hospital labs have more flexibility to use alcohol-based hand antiseptics because CMS now allows...

• Avoid staff burn-out from repetition and overload

  Their eyes are glazed over. Their notebooks are full of doodles. They epitomize the phrase "in one...

Issue 8, August 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Tread cautiously when you give freebies to your referral sources

  Labs often want to provide free items such as small promotional items, lunches during educational...

• Seven tips for responding to compliance mistakes

  If you have a compliance problem or find a mistake, learn from the experience, correct the mistake...

Issue 7, July 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Track noncash items given to docs to avoid violating Stark $300 limit

  Labs may want to provide certain minor items such as lunch to physicians who refer patients to the...

• Get physicians to cooperate on billing compliance

  Labs depend on ordering physicians to provide the information and documentation with test orders...

Issue 6, June 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Nine tips to increase compliance with staff PPE requirements

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all labs to provide-and staff to...

• Show the money in exclusive pathology contracts

  In the May Insider, we discussed how the OIG’s Supplemental Compliance Program Guidance for...

Issue 5, May 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS resolves date-of-service issues for archived specimens

  After waiting more than a year, labs now have some certainty about the date of service to use for...

• Review these 10 lab hotspots to thwart injuries

  In the April Insider, we told you how to find recurring problems potentially related to ergonomics...

• OIG dissects pathology contract kickback issues

  Hospitals, labs, and pathologists have long struggled over compensation for managing and directing...

Issue 4, April 5, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Survey your staff for hazards

  Ergonomics in the lab, part one The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA...

• Get SNFs to cooperate on billing for resident tests

  Providing services to Medicare beneficiaries who are residents at skilled nursing facilities (SNF...

• Become familiar with new cytology PT deadlines

  If you haven't already, enroll your pathologists and cytotechnologists in an approved cytology...

Issue 3, March 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Tell physicians about changes to diabetes and cardio screenings

  Now that Medicare will reimburse cardiovascular and diabetes screening tests, make sure that your...

• Supreme Court downplays sentencing guidelines

  But the ruling isn't an 'all-clear' for laboratories The U.S. Supreme Court has relieved the...

Issue 2, February 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Coordinate compliance efforts by reaching out to your hospital

  When a hospital laboratory has its own compliance officer and policies, procedures, and activities...

• The OIG gives the red light to a lab's joint venture

  A joint venture between physician groups and a pathology lab services company to operate off-site...

Issue 1, January 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Try these easy ways to stay on top of reflex-testing agreements

  Now may be the time of year when your lab renews its annual agreements with physicians for custom...

• The OIG's 2005 Work Plan supplies labs with a list of potential trouble spots

  Lab managers who want to keep up with possible OIG inquiries should check out the agency's 2005...