Is Your EHR Increasing Your Potential to Committ Fraud and Abuse?

Electronic medical records might be doing wonderful things for patient care, but they have also made it easier to commit fraud, according to the findings of a new report from the Office of Inspector General.

According to the OIG, this is why they did this report:

Electronic health records (EHRs) replace traditional paper medical records with computerized record keeping to document and store patient health information. Experts in health information technology caution that EHR technology can make it easier to commit fraud. For example, certain EHR technology features may be used to mask true authorship of the medical record and distort information to inflate health care claims.

The transition from paper records to EHRs may present new vulnerabilities and require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its contractors to adjust their techniques for identifying improper payments and investigating fraud.

Here's a link to the January OIG Report on EHR and areas of potential fraud.  A must read if you have one of these in your practice.

January 2014 OIG Report on EHRs