Introduction - The Health Improvement, Portability and Accountability Act of 1997 has forever changed the face of documentation and compliance. Federal compliance with complex rules regarding self-referral, anti-kickback rules, Stark regulations, documentation requirements and federal False Claims have created an imperative for practices. Participants will get an overview of the Act, the most common areas for violations and strategies for establishing policies and procedures to minimize compliance problems. This program is designed for managers and physicians.

This Practice Management Audiocast Presentation includes ...

• This Audiocast is of a recent Live Webconference presented by Economedix;
• Your registration fee covers the ability for you and your practice to view this presentation for one year along with various course handout materials;
• The ability for ACS Fellows and practice managers to e-mail follow-up questions to Economedix Practice Management Advisors for personalized responses;
• Co-Sponsors - The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and The Professional Association of Health Care Office Management (PAHCOM).

Course Objectives - Completion of this Practice Management Course will provide:

• Understand the key laws and rules that govern Fraud & Abuse compliance;
• Know what the most common violations are and what Medicare and other federal agencies are really looking for in compliance along with the penalties for non-compliance;
• Understand methods for dealing with compliance issues and how to make your office less vulnerable to penalties;
• Educate others in the practice about fraud and abuse issues;
• Develop policies and procedures for minimizing the practice's liability.

Accreditation - The American College of Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education to physicians.

Credits - The American College of Surgeons designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the educational activity. PAHCOM has pre-approved this educational activity for 1 CEU towards the PAHCOM CMM designation. To earn the credit, participants must complete the combination Evaluation / CME - CEU Form, that is included in the course materials, and FAX this form back within seven days following the date of the teleconference.

Faculty - The faculty for the course is Mr. Tom Loughrey, MBA, CCS-P. Mr. Loughrey is Chairman of Economedix and a noted practice management consultant to physicians, medical offices and medical societies. For over a decade, Mr. Loughrey has provided consulting services to the College as a part of the Consultant’s Corner at the annual ACS Clinical Congress and regularly is engaged by ACS to speak and teach at meetings and workshops throughout the country.