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EMR And Health Care Fraud Case Study

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EMR and Health Care Fraud The realization of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is one of the greatest technological health care achievements. However, this realization has brought about many additional concerns. Regarding EMR, some of these concerns include: billing for services not provided, misrepresenting dates/locations/providers of services, incorrect reporting of diagnoses or procedures, double billing, and upcoding. (Piper, 2013) Many of these issues did not just appear with the introduction of EMR, but there was a surge of billing fraud complaints--from patients and Medicare recipients. EMR implementation has changed the modern health world, but it does not come without its setbacks.
“The $1,000 Pap Smear” EMR has been called out for its easy set-up for …show more content…
Results show that, instead, EMR has exposed patients to billing fraud and abuse. In addition to the financial incentives hospitals are receiving for switching to the Electronic Medical Record, hospitals have changed billing codes. Hospital representatives claim that these billing codes allow for more accurate billing, as well as more accurate documentation of care. They also claim that patients have required more treatment than in previous years, allowing for further reimbursements. Sub sequentially, all these changes occurred the same year. Reimbursements rose, on average, 50-80% for hospitals that adopted EMR. After some investigating, it was discovered that physicians do the very thing Dr. Bettigole described. By checking a single box, a physician could indicate that he or she had completed a “standard physical exam” (which includes a number of tasks), although they may not even have looked at the patient. Some observant patients have caught on, but the majority of patients have no indication as to why their health care costs are suddenly so

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