Dear Business & Industry Insider,
In most industries, demonstrating customer appreciation is simply business as usual. In the U.S. healthcare market, a tangible expression of gratitude can land both the vendor and the customer in jail.
Tickets to sports events and Broadway shows, dinner at a top restaurant, trips to resorts, golf outings, free educational seminars, gifts, and free product samples are now the subject matter of criminal indictments alleging Medicare fraud and violations of antikickback regulations. Other activities, including charitable donations and research grants, are also under legal scrutiny.
Earlier this year in an effort to ensure the medical imaging industry's adherence to the government's antikickback and false claims laws, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published its code of ethics. The code helps companies manage and avoid legal risk with customers such as radiologists, cardiologists, and orthopedists.
According to a panel presentation on the code at the 2005 RSNA in Chicago, vendors aren't the only ones who need to understand the code -- healthcare providers and professionals are on the hook as well. According to panel participant Linda Wawzenski, deputy chief U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, the only way to maintain the integrity of the system is by prosecuting both sides of the transaction.
The bottom line, according to NEMA's general counsel Clark Silcox, is that anything of value that is transferred from a company to a customer raises questions for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. And, although compliance with the NEMA Code of Ethics is voluntary, its mere existence provides a prosecutorial weapon according to the attorneys on the panel.
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