Since 1995, Reliable Business Intelligence for Clinical Laboratories, Pathology Groups and Laboratory Diagnostics

Volume XIV No. 12 - August 27, 2007

EMR Links as Labs’ Next Competitive Advantage

WE ARE CAREFULLY TRACKING THE ACCEPTANCE AND USE of electronic medical record (EMR) systems by office-based physicians. It is an important trend, one that is both an opportunity and a threat for regional laboratories. As you will read on pages 3-6, once physicians install and begin to use EMR in their daily practice, literally the …

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Getting Connected: Labs Find Value in EMR Links

CEO SUMMARY: As physicians deploy electronic medical record (EMR) systems, they quickly ask their laboratory for electronic results reporting directly into the EMR. Later, these doctors will ask for electronic test orders from their EMR. Savvy labs are using this opportunity to develop closer business relationships with their clients. Two experts in the EMR field …

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Michigan Derm Convicted On 31 Fraud Charges

CEO SUMMARY: Last year, dermatologist Robert W. Stokes, D.O., of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was indicted by the federal government for 72 counts relating to various offenses, including upcoding, and improper coding. Of this total, 35 counts against Stokes involved his billing payers for laboratory tests he did not perform and laboratory services that he did …

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Lab Billing Indictments Underscore Docs’ Risks

CEO SUMMARY: Physicians should consider the precedent established recently when the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan obtained a 72-count indictment against a local dermatologist, including 35 counts of submitting fraudulent claims for lab tests he did not perform, as well as laboratory services he did not render. One legal expert considers this …

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Path Group Responds to FBI Visits in Stokes Case

CEO SUMMARY: As the FBI launched its investigation of fraudulent billing by Michigan dermatologist Robert W. Stokes, D.O., two years ago, staff at several pathology labs found themselves “up close and personal” with federal healthcare fraud prosecutors. One pathology lab, based on what it learned, decided to revamp its compliance program. It ceased deep discounts …

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Are Feds Ready to Strike at TC/PC Arrangements?

CEO SUMMARY: Pathologists and laboratory directors will want to pay attention to the proposed rules published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 2, 2007. The document is a grab bag of proposals and rules that would significantly curb many common ancillary services arrangements now used by physicians to capture revenue. Diagnostic …

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August 27, 2007 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Something different is happening when the Associated Press does a story about how the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA), a lab industry trade group, has spent money lobbying Congress. The Associated Press used federal records to confirm that ACLA, paid $140,000 to Alston & Bird LLP, a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and …

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