Home Health & Hospice Week

If it seems like your referring physicians are ignorant of the fraud and abuse rules governing your interactions with them, you may be right. In 2010, less than half (44 percent) of medical schools provided instruction to their students regarding Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse laws, the HHS Office of Inspector General found in a new report. Schools offering residency and fellowship programs did a little better, with more than two-thirds teaching participants how to comply with CMS's fraud and abuse laws, the report indicates.

Medical students at the schools surveyed were trained on compliance with the False Claims Act, the physician self-referral law, and the antikickback statute.

The OIG says it will help grow these programs by providing additional information to the schools. The OIG report is at http://go.usa.gov/aIQ.