Managing a healthcare organization can be overwhelming, as providing quality patient care is your foremost goal. However, you also have an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes paperwork and compliance to complete. Part of your hiring and managing of your healthcare workforce involves the OIG screening  process. If you are not familiar with OIG screening or want to learn more about it, then you are in the right place! We’ll go over what OIG screening is, why it is important, a

Selecting the right candidates is crucial across all industries; however, when it comes to selecting employees within the healthcare field, it becomes especially important due to a multitude of safety and compliance-related concerns associated with these employee decisions. When hiring an employee (e.g. a nurse, physician, coder/biller) to work in a medical practice or hospital, employers not only seek candidates with strong work skills but also have to consider whether prosp

When we go to the doctors to get help, we expect to be treated with respect and dignity. We count on the fact that whatever treatment we are receiving will work. However, how do we know the people giving us those treatments are trustworthy? How do we know that the medicines or treatments prescribed will work as expected and be the right ones for the diagnosis? The good news is there are many ways the healthcare system tries to prevent anyone from committing any violations by

As someone who is involved with running a healthcare facility or processing billing for one, you may have already heard the term “compliance” used time and again in different contexts. This concept may appear to be a confusing maze of different regulations and rules that must be adhered to at all times. However, there is an important component associated with compliance that needs to be at the top of your priority list: OIG Screening  or Office of Inspector General screening.

Healthcare has a high volume of paperwork, no matter the size of your practice (hospital, clinic, etc.). From managing patient files to processing claims through insurance companies to paying for utilities and supplies, it can be hard to keep track of the administrative duties in your office. One of those duties is verifying employee eligibility prior to their hiring; that’s where the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is involved The OIG maintains an “ Exclusion List OIG ” of

Safety and compliance are always crucial to the success of any professional undertaking involving health care, governmental, and other regulated entities because they involve the exercise of sensitive duties. In many organizations, adherence to specific oversight regulations is typically part of that process, and tools and resources such as the Exclusion List OIG  , OIG Exclusions, OIG Checks, and Sanction Checks commonly are utilized for those purposes. If you can interpret

In healthcare facilities, it is common to see them seek external help to ease employees' workloads or provide extra hands. However, have you ever thought about whether these external helping individuals need sanction checks   or not? The healthcare facilities accepted these ext ernal individuals as volunteers, interns, or medical students for a summer rotation. These individuals work for healthcare organizations on an unpaid basis, but does that mean they don’t need screening

Business requires developing good business relationships. In order to conduct business you must hire employees, enter into contracts with vendors and partner with other businesses. It would be great if everyone you worked with had integrity and obeyed the law, but unfortunately this is not the reality. Businesses also face risk. You could accidentally hire someone who has a record of committing fraud or doing business with a company that is banned from doing business due to v

When you visit your doctor, trust is the most important part of the experience. You trust them to diagnose you correctly, treat you with care, and prescribe the medication that is best for your health. However, healthcare is also a massive industry. Sometimes, financial relationships exist between the doctors we see and the companies that make the drugs and medical devices we use. This is where the CMS Open Payments  program comes into play. If you have ever wondered about th

Working in the healthcare industry involves much more than just treating patients. Behind the scenes, there is a massive web of rules and regulations designed to keep the system honest and safe. For healthcare organizations, HR managers, and compliance officers, staying on top of these rules is critical. If you are managing a medical practice or a healthcare organization, you have likely heard terms like OIG Excluded, Exclusion screening, and CMS Open Payments . While these t

Imagine you are running a business—specifically, a healthcare business like a clinic, a hospital, or a nursing home. You want to hire the best doctors, nurses, and administrators. You check their resumes and call their references. Everything looks great. But there is one more vital step you might miss, and missing it could cost you thousands of dollars. It involves checking a specific government list. This creates the foundation for understanding the Exclusions List OIG . If

Trust is a huge part of both operating a business and managing a healthcare facility. You have trust that your employees are performing their jobs correctly. In addition, you trust your vendors to provide high-quality products. On the other hand, if you have an unreasonable level of trust and do not screen companies to do business with, you might be surprised if you hired a contractor that was banned from your industry or a vendor with a history of stealing from their custome

When we go to a doctor or a hospital, we trust that the people taking care of us are honest, qualified, and safe. But how does the government ensure that healthcare providers are following the rules? The answer lies with a government agency called the Office of Inspector General (OIG). For anyone working in healthcare, human resources, or medical administration, understanding the " OIG Check " is not just a suggestion—it is a requirement. Let’s break down what these terms mea

The operation of any business, particularly in health care, has two important components: providing care to patients and customers, and abiding by regulations. An especially important set of regulations to comply with is to fully understand who you are hiring and who you are conducting business with, commonly referred to as performing " Exclusion Screening ." Exclusion screening may seem intimidating if you are not familiar with the term, but it is quite an easy process. It i

There are many concerns that any healthcare organization has to face; patient care, staffing and billing to name a few. However, there is one thing that will cost you a fortune if not taken care of, it could destroy your company's reputation as well; the process of checking all of your new hires or those who you conduct business with. This type of check is referred to as   sanctions checks   or exclusion screening. Although this may sound heavy and legal in connotation, the c

Workers in Healthcare have likely encountered OIG Screening before. However, not many individuals truly understand what exactly OIG screening involves; thus let’s simplify. Defining OIG Screening To begin with, OIG is short for the Office of Inspector General, the federal agency that regulates and supervises all the healthcare programs that the Federal Government manages, specifically Medicare and Medicaid. OIG Screening  refers to the OIG’s screening of an individual to dete

We trust our physician with our health whenever we see him/her; therefore, when he/she gives us medicine or recommends equipment it’s because they truly believe it’s the best thing for us. Unfortunately, the healthcare system has multiple upset factors, including the fact that physicians have an extensive emotional and family history with their patients and often deal with pharmaceutical companies or medical equipment manufacturers as part of their professional lives. In orde

Information Healthcare Providers Should Know About OIG Exclusion Checks   Running the healthcare business or working in healthcare gives you a lot of rules. You need to follow privacy laws and make sure you submit correct codes for billing purposes. This is a lot of information to deal with, but there is one safety net that you need to pay attention to, and that is exclusion screening.   Exclusion Screening sounds like complicated legalese, but really it just means you want t

Working in the healthcare industry means you must follow many rules, not just for patient care but for the business side as well. One of the most critical topics for providers and hiring managers is exclusion. While it sounds technical, the concept is actually very simple to understand. However, ignoring it can lead to massive financial losses for your organization. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is tasked with fighting fraud in federal programs like Medicare and Medic

Bringing new employees into an organization brings plenty of excitement and opportunity for any type of organization but especially one associated with health care. As an organization expands its workforce, you will have the opportunity to serve many more patients or customers than before! However, finding the right employee for your organization is also a big responsibility. Finding the right person isn’t only about verifying educational qualifications and work experience; i