Violations of the False Claims Act in private practice
$1.00
You are the Compliance Officer of a 230-bed teaching hospital. You have just read a newspaper article reporting that a physician on the hospital’s medical staff has been charged with violations of the False Claims Act in his private practice. The charges include upcoming and billing for unnecessary services.
- Do you believe that there is any way that the hospital could be implicated in the physician’s misdeeds? What is your first reaction to receiving this information?
- If it appears that the charges are legitimate and some disciplinary action is necessary, what are your options?
- When you suggest suspending the physician form the medical staff for 6 months, the Chief Medical Officer reminds you that the physician refers a large number of patients to the hospital. Does this make a difference to you?
