Advanced Search

Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

HOSPITAL RISK MANAGEMENT:

Head Off the Specter of Surgeons Performing Unneeded Procedures

Published on Wed Jan 13, 2010

4 strategies can help, including knowing these key warning signs. Talk about a PR and legal disaster: Media reports that a prominent cardiologist at a hospital may have implanted stents in patients who didn't need them. That scenario continues to play out for a Maryland hospital in a case that provides a cautionary reminder for hospitals to think through how to prevent a similar situation or at least nip it in the bud. Bad news: The Maryland hospital where the surgeon practiced has "sent letters to hundreds of patients... telling them that the extensive stents in their arteries may have been placed there unnecessarily or under false pretenses," states an article in the Baltimore Sun (www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.stent29jan29,0,6780233.story). The take-home message: Hospitals can get caught in the crosshairs when physicians practicing at their facilities get hit with allegations of providing unnecessary care. "Hospitals can't just say 'the physician ordered it,'" says [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

View All