In order to protect the integrity of the Medicare program, all suspected healthcare fraud can and should be reported to government authorities. Healthcare providers and others who engage in fraudulent activity do so in a variety of ways. One of the most common methods is to submit a claim for healthcare services, including treatments or medical tests, that were never actually rendered. Engaging in fraud through services not rendered can include the creation of “ghost patients,” which are either entirely made up and do not exist, or are real patients who never received the services listed in the reimbursement claim. Along the same lines, a healthcare provider might also do what is called “upcoding.” Medical procedures are designated on claim forms by a number of specific billing codes. Upcoding occurs when that provider submits a claim with a billing code for a more serious (and therefore more expensive) procedure than was actually performed. Billing for services that were not actually performed only scratches the surface of the kinds of methods used to defraud Medicare. Other kinds of fraud include paying kickbacks to induce the referral of patients, billing for treatments or procedures that aren’t medically necessary, and using false and misleading statements to market pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices for uses not approved by the FDA.