SPOTLIGHT: Poor physician credentialing leads to hospital False Claims billing charges

Failure to enforce a robust physician credentialing program could have significant financial consequences for one Georgia hospital. The federal government has joined a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that Satilla Health Services Inc. in Waycross, doing business as Satilla Regional Medical Center, and Dr. Najam Azmat submitted Medicare and Medicaid claims for medically substandard and unnecessary services, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The complaint charges that the hospital submitted claims for medical procedures that Azmat wasn't qualified or properly credentialed to perform, resulting in serious injuries and at least one patient death. FierceHealthFinance