A new addition is being added to the blog. Our healthcare system is broken and fragmented and patients are usually the ones that receive the brunt of the abuse. Real stories from real patients will highlight the traumatic events that patients have to face in the wake of terminal illness, an accident or any other medical emergency.

Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

A scary night in the ER

“I have been watching my friend for the last 24 hours. First in the ER being monitored by a machine for his heart, oxygen and blood pressure – the alarm is turned off so it doesn’t make any noise – followed by a 6 hour wait for EMERGENCY surgery – hoping that he gets in the cue prior to the onset of internal rupture. I watched patient transport almost pull him out of the room without disconnecting the tubes from the wall – a frustrating reminder that the focus on reform is not about health.

After surgery I was watching him recover and yet again the $200 monitor has the alarm turned off. I thought to myself, ‘I wonder what would happen is there was no one in the room and he couldn’t call out for help?’

My friend received a 2mg narcotic through his IV around 6:00 pm. At 8:00 pm the nurse came back to evaluate for another .5mg of the narcotic. I watched his nurse place the injection on the table, take and enter vital signs into the bedside PC and while I was looking at my notes, the nurse left the room. I asked my friend, “Did the nurse give you anything?” He didn’t know. I looked for injection marks on his right arm – nothing. I walked out and asked the nurse, “Did you give him the injection?” The nurse’s response, “You were in the room the whole time, did you not see me give it to him?”

I took a step back – I am tired and need to turn off my fraud, waste and abuse examiner’s hat. However, I wonder on these points…

1. I believe the nurse stole the narcotic and did not give it to the patient. The next day the floor nurse let me look at the medical record. The patient received the narcotic at 8:00 pm IVP – which means the nurse would have had to ask me to move since I was sitting next to the arm with the IV.

2. The on call surgeon had to wait until the on call surgical staff finished operating on the patient’s rupture appendicitis. He was ready for surgery at 10:00 pm but could not get in until 1:00 am. So what would have happened if the bowel obstruction ruptured any time before 1:00 am? Would he have died in the ER? Been transferred to another hospital?

3. What would have happened on the snowy icy night if an auto accident had been admitted? Would he have been bumped? Did the hospital put their ER in bypass mode?

4. Now what about the ER nurse, did he take the narcotic himself? Was he feeling a little ‘happy’?

The False Claims Act was passed by Congress in 1863 and allows people who are not affiliated with the government (Congressmen, the President etc.) to file actions against federal contractors claiming fraud against the government.

In our current economic forecast with fraud running rampant (the Madoff scandal, the collapse of the financial market etc.) the False Claims Act is still relevant. Even with the abundance of accounting fraud, the major focus of the False Claims Act is still healthcare fraud. According to an article in the American Medical News, “Healthcare cases made up the lion’s share of false claims settlements and judgments in the fiscal year, brining in $1.6 billion, or two-thirds of the total $2.4 billion recouped.

Read full article here.

Healthcare fraud is a huge industry for the ethically challenged in our country. Keep reporting – it is a great deterrent.

A global crackdown on counterfeit drugs has uncovered more than 700 alleged packages of fake or suspicious prescription drugs including Claritin, Viagra and Vicodin. Some of the drugs might have had 3 times the active agreement than normally prescribed, others were placebos and some drugs contained materials typically not found in medications including drywall material, antifreeze and yellow highway paint.

See article for more information.

With the increasingly high costs of prescription medications, many people are turning to the Internet to fill their prescriptions. Internet pharmacies are a hot bed for counterfeit drugs. However, don’t assume you’re safe if you purchase from a brick and mortar pharmacy – counterfeit drugs can make their way into the supply chain anywhere.

Counterfeit drugs are currently a $28 million industry. Don’t let yourself be a victim. Below are some tips that will help.

1. If you take a medication for a chronic condition – save the packaging from the month before and compare the bottle, packaging or the pill itself.

2. If you only receive the pill in a generic bottle compare a picture of the tablet at www.fda.gov by simply searching for the medication.

3. If you are taking a medication and it just doesn’t feel the same or is not working like it normally does, see your doctor and show the medication to your pharmacist.

4. If the medication is deemed counterfeit, save a sample until you see your doctor to make sure there will be no long term complications or side effects.

Healthcare fraud is everywhere – even in countries that have government run programs. Below are some examples:

Healthcare fraud knows no boundaries. The U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs are equivalent to many government-sponsored programs in other countries. Regardless of country, the existence and roles of players within the healthcare continuum are the same. All healthcare systems have patients, providers, TPAs (third-party administrators) that process reimbursements to third parties, plan sponsors (usually government programs or private-pay activities) and support vendors.

Examples of international healthcare fraud are plentiful. In France, a psychiatric nursing home took advantage of patients to obtain their property. In 2004, a newspaper in South Africa reported “a man who posed as a homeopathic doctor was this week sentenced to 38 years in jail – the stiffest term ever imposed by a South African court on a person stealing from medical aids.” An Australian psychiatrist claimed more than $1 million by writing fake referrals of patients to himself; he also charged for the time spent having intimate relations with patients.

In Japan, as in the United States, there are examples of hospitals incarcerating patients, falsifying records and inflating numbers of doctors and nurses in facilities for profit. A U.K. medical researcher mislead his peers and the public by using his own urine sample for 12 research subjects. Switzerland, know for its watches, had providers sanctioned for billing 30-hour days.

Excerpt from Healthcare Fraud: Auditing & Detection Guide by Rebecca Busch

Healthcare fraud is a $60 billion industry. Fraud “rings” are popping up all over the country mainly because stealing from healthcare providers, patients and government run health programs is safer and easier than being a drug dealer. How can we deter criminals from stealing money from our already troubled healthcare system? Well, if the House of Representatives has anything to do with it, the proposed IMPROVE (Improving Medicare and Medicaid Policy for Reimbursements through Oversight and Efficiency) Act will hopefully provide enough barriers that criminals will find drug dealing/other crimes more lucrative.

The bipartisan bill would end the common practice of mailing reimbursement checks to post office boxes. However, we first should all be asking a very important question. Who thought it was responsible to send reimbursement checks to post office boxes in the first place? What reputable healthcare provider doesn’t have a permanent address where to send checks?

The Act will mandate that all government sponsored health programs pay healthcare providers and suppliers by using direct deposit. This certainly seems to be a step in the right direction and into the 21st century. Direct deposits will eliminate an easy way for criminals to get their hands on reimbursement checks, save the government money on stamps, envelopes, paper check etc., and don’t forget about the environment.

Congress, please say, “Yes,” to healthcare reform.

See Rebecca Busch’s expertise quoted on the Examiner. Just a little teaser – healthcare fraud costs us an exorbitant amount of money.

Read full article here.

It was announced yesterday that Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans recovered close to $350 million thanks to a very efficient 2008 anti-fraud investigation. The total money recovered added up to a 43% increase from the previous year. Fraud activities included false claims, improper billing practices and non-covered procedures.

WellPoint – an independent licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield – also announced that they recovered $75 million due to waste, fraud and abuse in their system. According to their estimates, for every $1 spent on investigating fraud the company saves or recovers $11.

Read full article.

If insurance companies can find ways to combat waste, fraud and abuse in their systems, Medicare and Medicaid need to find more productive methods. An estimated $68 billion every year – or 3% – of all healthcare expenditures is stolen. The government could insurance millions with that “extra” money.

Scammers have found yet another way to swindle unknowing consumers out of their money – healthcare discount cards.

2 to 4 million people have purchased what they thought to be medical discount cards, only to later learn they had been misled and ripped off. Consumers buying these cards are likely to not have insurance from their jobs and can’t afford it on their own. These cards seem to be a winning solution.

Make sure you’re not a victim.

Read full article here.