How carefully do you listen to your employees' complaints? False Claims Act lawsuits assault providers on multiple fronts. First, they can carry a big price tag due to the treble damages allowed for in the statute. That can result in whopping settlement amounts such as SouthernCare's nearly $25 million payment. Second, a qui tam lawsuit settlement announcement can do major damage to a provider's image. It's much better to issue a release saying you found and self-reported a problem instead of that you had to settle a whistleblower suit, notes attorney Robert Markette, Jr. with Gilliland,Markette & Milligan in Indianapolis. "That's bad publicity,"Markette says. Local news outlets often comb through every unsubstantiated allegation in the qui tam relators' suits, tarnishing your standing with referrals. To head off costly and embarrassing whistleblower suits, take these steps: 1. Draw up and institute a sound compliance plan. Resources: The OIG's compliance guidance for hospices, which dates to 1999, is at www.oig.hhs.gov/authorities/docs/hospicx.pdf. And you can sign up for Eli-sponsored audioconferences on hospice compliance. 2. Encourage a culture of compliance. 3. Focus on compliance hot spots. 4. Review eligibility criteria. Now is a good time to review your own eligibility criteria and make sure you are adhering to Medicare guidelines and your own compliance plan. Everyone admits that predicting life expectancy is an inexact science, Markette notes. But if your patients' average length of stay has gradually trended up past the six-month point, it's time to take a look at your admission practices. "Be vigilant about who you are admitting," he advises. Realize the difference between a patient with an incurable disease and one who is eligible for hospice with a sixmonth terminal prognosis. 5. Be receptive to employee complaints. However, if management does not appropriately address staff concerns, employees have no choice but to take action outside of the organization. "Management must work hard to make certain that staff members don't reach a conclusion that the only way to address the problem is to go outside the company," Hogue cautions. 6. Police yourself.