Eyeworld

8 Ophthalmology Business • July 2016 by Lauren Lipuma, Contributing Writer cussed how the government is likely to respond. Providing education to optometrists Ophthalmologists and optometrists (ODs) can have different kinds of re- lationships—ODs can refer patients, lease equipment or office space to ophthalmologists, co-manage pa- tients, or even be equity partners in a practice or ambulatory surgery center (ASC). Ophthalmologists often provide education or professional courtesies to their referring ODs, and while this in itself is generally not a problem, ophthalmologists should be careful about how they do it, according to Mr. Reider. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits ophthalmologists from pro- viding anything of value to induce a referral from an OD, and there is no minimum dollar amount that is protected from the law, he said. Mr. Reider does not think the government would challenge phy- sicians who provide education to ODs, but said he would be concerned when something more than educa- tion is involved, such as the provi- sion of continuing education cred- its, an extravagant dinner, or if the education was provided in a resort during the weekend. Education is considered some- thing of value, so if you're providing education to ODs, don't limit these opportunities to only referring ODs, he said, and keep it simple. "Make it clear that the purpose of this is not to provide a nice dinner in a nice place for your ODs," Mr. ophthalmologists make concerning their relationships with optometrists, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) exclusion list, documentation, and more. According to Mr. Reider, some compliance mistakes are dangerous in that they are common and can easily attract the attention of whistleblowers or government agencies. Committing 1 compliance mistake could have a domino effect because it could open the door for the government to inves- tigate an entire practice's operations, rather than just 1 incident, he said. In their presentation, Mr. Reider and Ms. Shuren highlighted the legal and practical risks of certain compliance mistakes, offered strategies for avoid- ing and dealing with them, and dis- Health care law experts discuss some potentially disastrous errors and ways to prevent them O phthalmology practices can make a myriad of mistakes when it comes to compliance, but some errors are downright dangerous, according to 2 health care law experts. Presenting at an ASOA course at the 2016 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress, Alan Reider, JD, MPH, and Allison Shuren, JD, MSN, Arnold and Porter LLP, Washington, D.C., high- lighted common compliance mistakes Avoiding compliance mistakes that can attract government attention

• Cover