Are You Being Audited? Here’s What You Should Do
If you’ve received notification that your medical practice is the subject of a ZPIC audit, the first thing to remember is not to panic. This doesn’t have to be a negative experience, as long as you have an experienced team on your side to help you throughout the process. In addition, arming yourself with some knowledge and strategies can help you, your business, and your employees come out ahead after an audit. Here are 4 things you should do if you find yourself in the middle of a ZPIC audit.
Maintain Communication
During an audit, you should maintain open communications with the ZPIC in charge. Stay calm, professional, and pleasant during any communications with him or her. Consider communicating only via email or other written correspondence, so there is a record of what was said by both of you. In fact, it is usually best to consult your attorney before you communicate with anyone.
Don’t Ignore Requests
Many times, businesses choose to ignore requests. However, one way to maintain the open communication noted above is to pay attention to and address the requests of the ZPIC. Whether the request is for additional documentation or a deadline for producing the necessary paperwork, it’s important to acknowledge the request and get to work on meeting it.
Retain an Experienced ZPIC Audit Attorney
The receipt of a notification of a ZPIC audit is your prompt to secure the services of an experienced attorney. If you question the necessity of retaining counsel who has specific experience with medical audits, just remember something that you’ve likely told a patient or two. A patient who is having heart palpitations shouldn’t make an appointment to see an ENT. Instead, a cardiologist should be consulted. Likewise, you should also seek out someone who has experience defending organizations against ZPIC audits.
Enact a Compliance Code
Even if you already have language addressing compliance in your employee documentation, being the recipient of a ZPIC audit makes this a good time to update it. All new employees should be required to thoroughly read the compliance information and sign off on it to demonstrate their understanding. The staff that you have working for you currently should be introduced to the updated version. One way to do this quickly and easily is to have a staff meeting in which the compliance points are gone over one at a time. Ensure that everyone signs one before they leave the meeting.
Being the subject of any audit can not only be frightening, but it can also reduce the amount of cash flow to your practice. Retaining a legal team with experience in ZPIC audits helps to address these setbacks.
Experienced ZPIC Audit Attorneys at Oberheiden, P.C.
Don’t make the ZPIC audit more difficult for yourself and your business than it needs to be. Make sure you have the right legal team on your side to help you through it. If you are being audited or need help with an appeal, contact the attorneys at Oberheiden, P.C. at (888) 727-5159 or complete our online contact form today.