On March 24, 2009, the OIG issued an open letter (pdf) to healthcare providers restricting the application of the OIG Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP). 

The open letter states clearly that OIG is "narrowing the SDP’s scope regarding the physician’s self-referral law." This action has two components.

First, the OIG will accept providers into the SDP only when…

It was the night before Christmas and all through the west, not a physician was conspiring, not even the next. . .  On December 24, 2008, the FTC announced settlement of price fixing cases against AllCare IPA, a 500 physician multi-specialty IPA organized as Independent Practice Associates Medical Group, Inc. in Modesto, California…

A New Jersey Court has awarded $400,000 to a deaf patient who claimed her doctor discriminated against her by refusing to provide an interpreter. Irma Gerena sued Robert Fogari, a Jersey City rheumatologist, under the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act, claiming violations for refusing to provide to interpreter. This is not a new issue. The …

There has been some consternation whether the FTC Red Flag rules applied to medical practices as creditors. Organized medicine has been seeking clarification. which has not been forthcoming. Fortunately, this 6 month delay should allow somtime to review this issue.

FTC Will Grant Six-Month Delay of Enforcement of ‘Red Flags’ Rule Requiring Creditors and Financial Institutions

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Once enrolled in the Medicare Program, physicians, other non-physician individual practitioners and physicians group practices are required to notify CMS of changes in their practice structures. These requirements are sometimes referred to as change in ownership (CHOW) rules. Physicians and other individuals are required to report the following on form CMS-855-I:

1.         Change of business …

On August 22, 2008 the Department of Health and Human Services published a Proposed Rule that would modify two of the medical data code set standards adopted in the Transactions and Code Sets final rule.  The Proposed Rule would modify the standard code sets for coding diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures by concurrently adopting…

A California court has held that one hospital cannot take adverse peer review actions against a physician based solely on adverse peer review actions at another hospital; there must be an independent investigation of the medical issues.

In Smith vs. Selma Community Hospital, a copy of the opinion is attached below, the California appellate court…