Fraud Tied to Billing Software? Lawsuit Raises the Issue

A False Claims Act suit filed against EHR vendor Epic Systems alleges that the company's billing software was specifically coded to support fraudulent billing. The relator, a former compliance worker at a healthcare facility, alleges that Epic's anesthesia billing software module is coded to enable its healthcare customers to double-bill Medicare, Medicaid, and other payers for the anesthesia services they provide to patients.According to the allegations, the billing software charges both the actual time taken for anesthesia, and the same services in 15-minute base units, resulting in significant overcharges to Medicare, Medicaid, and other payers.