Such a program may be more likely to generate errors than correct them. Not only that, but fraud investigators might well consider the program to be a bad-faith effort to circumvent, rather than enforce, compliance. Though these requirements may seem daunting, they are relatively simple to implement. For example, the physician or office manager can serve as the compliance officer so a full-time employee need not be dedicated to that task. Similarly, discussion of compliance-related issues can occur as a segment of regular staff meetings.
Compliance is a collaborative effort between the physician and billing staff.
The essential elements of an effective compliance program are direct physician involvement and communication between the physician and billing staff. The billing staff must know which services are to be billed and which amounts to collect. This information should help physicians meet their goals to improve the quality of patient care, minimize risk, and reduce the cost of health care. For these reasons, every physician should consider implementing a compliance program.