Home Health & Hospice Week

Prepare your compliance plan before an auditor strikes -- but don't panic if you feel unprepared. Although an audit is a routine function that the OIG and payors must perform, it can strike fear into the hearts of home care providers everywhere. If you get word that you will soon be audited, follow these tips to help put your best foot forward. Prepare Far in Advance Don't wait until the HHS Office of Inspector General or your contractor alerts you that an audit is imminent before you get a handle on whereyou stand from a compliance standpoint, says Patricia A. Trites of Healthcare Compliance Resources in Sherman, Texas. "Internal audits are the best way to prepare for an external audit," Trites advises. "This process allows [you] to find errors and patterns of errors before someone else does." Next: "The second step to internal auditing is just as important -- education," Trites says. [...]