OIG ISSUES DETAILED CO-MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT ADVISORY OPINION
On the eve of the New Year, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued Advisory Opinion 12-22, which reviewed a cardiac catheterization co-management agreement between a hospital and a cardiology group. The Advisory Opinion is notable for its detail, and may be instructive for hospitals and physician practices wishing to establish similar arrangements. The hospital […]
OIG Provides Guidance Regarding Provision of Electronic Interface to Physicians
The provision of free access to an electronic interface designed to transmit orders to and from a hospital by physicians was the subject of OIG Advisory Opinion 12-20. Under the facts reviewed in the Advisory Opinion, the hospital would provide free access to an electronic interface to community physicians and physician practices. The physicians could […]
RESOLUTION OF THE FISCAL CLIFF: THE PHYSICIANS’ SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE ISSUE HAS BEEN RESOLVED FOR ONE MORE YEAR
In addition to all the other issues that will be coming back in 2013, the doctors will be confronted again in December 2013 with the fact that there could be a substantial reimbursement reduction in the Medicare payments starting January 1, 2014. As pointed out in our prior blogs, because of the way the Congressional […]
OIG Offers Additional Guidance on Hospital Relationships with Physicians
In two recently published Advisory Opinions, the HHS Office of Inspector General provided guidance concerning financial relationships between hospitals and members of their medical staffs. Advisory Opinion No. 12-15 involved per diem fees paid by a hospital to physicians to provide on-call coverage for the hospital’s emergency department. Advisory Opinion No. 12-20 involved a proposal […]
DENIAL OF AN OPRA REQUEST
Under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA), members of the public may request copies of certain public records. The government agency involved decides whether to grant or deny the request. If the agency denies the request, the requestor may appeal either through an administrative route (through the Government Records Council), or through the courts. […]