OIG screening, in simple terms, is a preventive measure to save you from working with excluded individuals or entities. But, who are these excluded individuals/entities? An excluded entity or individual can be a person, vendor, or organization that is in the OIG’s LEIE(List of Excluded Individuals/Entities). OIG, or the Office of Inspector General, maintains this list and has the authority to add individuals/entities to this list. The exclusion grounds broadly include Medicare or Medicaid, or other federal financial fraud, license suspension, and other severe charges.
Working with such excluded individuals/entities, knowingly or unknowingly, exposes your organization to severe monetary penalties and fines. Not only do these excluded parties put healthcare organizations at financial risk, but they can also harm the organization’s reputation. Therefore, OIG screening is extremely important to prevent your organization from such risks.
The screening process includes your current and potential hires, vendors, and other service providers. The OIG database is updated constantly, so you must screen individuals and entities against the latest list. As a result, it takes a significant amount of your working hours. Automated screening saves you from these hassles by using automation tools and software to screen the candidates against the latest OIG database. Venops combines these automated tools with expert supervision and years of experience. Furthermore, you will get all these services with the right and transparent pricing.
Reasons for OIG Exclusion
Learning about reasons for OIG exclusion will illustrate why the OIG check or screening process is emphasized, especially in the healthcare sector. The following are key reasons for exclusion:
1. Involvement in Medicare or Medicaid fraud or fraud related to items or services provided under Medicare, Medicaid, or State-funded healthcare programs
2. Misbehaving or abusive behavior towards patients
3. Ignoring professional duties as a medical professional
4. Found guilty of the illegal manufacturing, distributing, and prescribing of controlled substances
5. License suspension due to unprofessional behavior towards patients or fellow staff
While these are the primary reasons, there can be many other reasons for exclusion. As you can see, these are quite serious charges, which is why working with such individuals/entities puts your organization at great risk. OIG screening saves you from the potential financial and reputational damage by ensuring you don’t work with excluded parties.
The Special Need for Exclusion Screening in the Healthcare Sector
While exclusions screening is necessary for every sector, it is crucial in healthcare. Healthcare organizations and providers are responsible for people’s health and well-being. Therefore, they must provide patients with a safe environment and high-quality services. OIG screening ensures that your organization only works with well-qualified individuals and vendors with a clean legal background.
As a result, you avoid the risk of financial fraud, and the quality of your services helps build trust and a good reputation among the patients. Building trust and reputation in the healthcare sector is not an easy task. People only trust healthcare providers based on the quality of their services. Hiring professionally competent staff and vendors allows you to improve your services significantly. Consequently, you will be able to gain the trust of your patients.
Apart from the financial fraud and reputational damage, there is another important aspect of OIG screening and checks. Any healthcare provider who hires, contracts, or works with any individual/entity from the exclusions list of OIG is liable to pay civil monetary penalties(CMPs) and fines. The CMP can be up to $10,000, and the amount of fine depends on the case’s severity and other factors.
Automated OIG Screening by Venops for Better and Faster Results
Venops is a trusted compliance partner with years of experience in designing, maintaining, and implementing compliance solutions. We perfectly balance years old experience with modern software automation technology to ensure that you get accurate results without any delays. We have partnered with numerous healthcare providers and helped them save their precious working hours. While providing high-quality OIG screening and compliance services is our priority, we also ensure that the pricing is fair and transparent.
Here are some key benefits of partnering with us:
1. Screen your vendors at no extra cost
2. Quick and accurate results with monthly automated screening
3. We will have you save your precious working hours and ensure the screening process does not interrupt your workflow.
4. We have experts who supervise the screening and compliance checks
5. We have access to the most update and precise database
6. The best part is that you get all these benefits at the right price
To Sum Up
OIG screening is crucial for the healthcare sector and significantly improves the service quality. Additionally, this screening process also saves your organization from financial fraud and reputational damage. Screening individuals(new or potential hires) and entities(vendors or service providers) prevents you from working with excluded individuals. As a result, you avoid financial fines and civil monetary penalties that are imposed on those who knowingly or unknowingly work with excluded parties.
OIG checks or screening is also a major part of the Vendor compliance checks. The healthcare sector depends on vendors for essential goods and services. Consequently, screening the vendors is essential to get on-time, high-quality services. At Venops, you will find a wide range of services including staff screening, vendor screening, sanction screening, automation screening, and more.
Your search for a trusted and experienced compliance screening partner ends here, with Venops. Also, you can contact us for any further inquiries or questions regarding our services.
