Apr 26, 2017 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
McKesson agreed to pay a $150 million settlement for not reporting suspicious opioid orders and this case establishes a precedent that could ensnare other providers
In today’s world of the Internet-of-Things, it is becoming easier to collect data on every purchase made by individuals and companies. That ability to track the actions of consumers and commercial business has not escaped the notice of law enforcement and regulatory authorities. For example, at some future point, it could be that regulators would want to access data held by clinical laboratories on the test ordering patterns of their client physicians.
A recent ruling by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a case involving McKesson Corp. (NYSE:MCK), may set a precedent that could eventually be cause for concern for medical laboratories that work with physicians who may be ordering more tests than are considered medically necessary under current regulations.
McKesson is a retail distributor of pharmaceuticals, and provider of health information and care management technologies and medical supplies. In a settlement with the DOJ, McKesson agreed to pay a record $150 million in civil penalties, as well as a staggered suspension of sales of controlled substances for a period of time from distribution centers in Colorado, Ohio, Florida, and Michigan, for alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). (more…)
Mar 27, 2017 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
CMS Director speaks at ACLA meeting; acknowledges that labs are alerting the agency to problems with Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) private payer market reporting, but did not say whether a delay in implementing either reporting or lab test fee cuts would be possible
WASHINGTON, DC—Last week, it was symbolic that, as members of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) assembled for their annual meeting, members of the House of Representatives were preparing to vote on the first of several bills intended to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act.
The symbolism comes from the fact that the nation’s medical laboratories and the United States Congress find themselves at major crossroad. For medical laboratories, the issue is the substantial cuts to Medicare Part B clinical laboratory test fees that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2018. Predicted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to be a total cut of $400 million in 2018 alone, many expect these Medicare fee cuts to be the single most financially-disruptive event to hit the medical laboratory profession in 25 years.
There’s a similar make-or-break issue unfolding in Congress. Republicans in the House and Senate are caught up in battles to design and pass a series of bills intended to “repeal and replace” the ACA. At their respective crossroads, it remains unclear which path forward each group will follow. (more…)
Oct 26, 2015 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Recent federal Justice Department memorandum issues guidance designed to seek accountability from individuals and combat corporate misconduct
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers who want a tougher crackdown on labs and physicians that violate anti-kickback laws welcome the news that in the past year federal courts have sentenced 13 physicians to jail terms of 12 to 63 months for accepting bribes from a discredited medical laboratory company as part of a scheme to defraud the federal Medicare program.
These criminal convictions were part of the federal case prosecuted against Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services (BLS), in Parsippany, N.J..
In addition to those 13 jail sentences, one doctor got 10 months of home confinement, two doctors got 12 months probation, and sentencing for six other physicians is pending. Prosecutors expect more defendants will be sentenced in the coming months. (more…)
Aug 24, 2015 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
In just eight months, Iggbo claims to have 4,000 phlebotomists participating and is now operating in 18 states
Even as Uber and Lyft are bringing a new business model to the taxicab business, a group of entrepreneurs in Virginia want to do the same thing to the phlebotomy services offered by clinical laboratories. Since launching this service in January, the new phlebotomy company operates in 18 states.
The company is called Iggbo. It describes itself as an on-demand anytime/anywhere blood draw service and hopes to streamline the way blood samples move from patients to medical laboratories as the start-up looks to revolutionize phlebotomy the way Uber disrupted taxi service.
Based in Richmond, VA, Iggbo is introducing the sharing economy to the laboratory test collection process, a move that could benefit independent clinical laboratories and pathology groups that join Iggbo’s growing network of labs and independent phlebotomists. (more…)
Sep 15, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Did “processing fees” paid by certain clinical laboratory companies to physicians represent an inducement that violated federal anti-kickback laws?
Once again, allegations of fraudulent practices at a fast-growing clinical laboratory company have made national headlines. This time it was a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that last week discussed the controversy surrounding Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) of Richmond, Virginia.
According to the WSJ story, federal healthcare authorities are looking into a practice by HDL and other medical laboratory companies of paying physicians “to process” blood specimens collected in their offices. As described by the WSJ, this “processing fee” was as much as $20 and included a $3 portion for the venipuncture. (more…)
