Did you know that you could be on the Medicare/Medicaid exclusion list and not be allowed to take care of Medicare or Medicaid patients?  If you were placed on this list, where would you work?  In this day and age, pretty much every health care entity cares for Medicare or Medicaid patients. So, what is the exclusion list? The Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) is responsible for maintaining this exclusion list.  When the OIG is considering excluding an individual or entity, the … [Read more...]

Have you ever felt that when something so unexpectedly happens, it’s like you’ve been kicked in the gut?  This is how a lot of my nurses and other health care providers feel when they are terminated from their position or get a complaint before the Licensing Board.  They are good practitioners, but then out of the blue something happens. When this happens, take responsibility.  I’m not saying that you necessarily should admit the incident is your fault, but to take responsibility from the … [Read more...]

Do you know your hospital’s policies and procedures?  Do you follow them? If you have worked at numerous places, you probably have noticed that each hospital has its own specific policies and procedures.  It may never occur to you to look up the policy or procedure on something because, as the saying goes, “We’ve always done it this way.” But, be careful! There are variations in the policies and procedures of facilities.  At one facility you might draw blood from a central line but find … [Read more...]