Legal?

[Cledope]

Is it legal for an employer to go back and alter information on a SC DHEC form without your permission?

 

[akflightmedic]

As long as they were on the call and it is noted as an addendum and none of your stuff was removed....that would be my assumption.

Best bet is to contact DHEC.....

 

[Cledope]

Yeah basically they are changing my noted mileage per trip per mapquest if my mileage is more than what mapquest states then they leave it alone if it is less then they change it, they also will go back and elaborate more on my o2 administration although accurate i do not feel it is fair for them to alter my form without my knowledge.. for billing purposes..

 

[reaper]

No they are not allowed to alter any information. You should be doing electronic reports by now, As the cut off has passed. Once that information is put in and you sign and lock the chart, they can access it. But, it will leave an electronic signature of who was in there and what they did.

A lot of employers will change little things like that, or ask you to change it for better billing purpose. If you are strongly against them doing it, then call DHEC and report it. Make sure you are right about all of it and can prove it. Once you report it, they will get rid of you, one way or another. You will also get blackballed from working. It is not right, but all private employers know each other. Word will spread, fast!

So, ask yourself if it is worth it? Am I ready to take that stand, if they are not actually putting false info in the report?

 

[Sam Adams]

they also will go back and elaborate more on my o2 administration although accurate i do not feel it is fair for them to alter my form without my knowledge.. for billing purposes..

The O2 thing is strange, I'm not saying legal or not, but strange. Why is someone in the office documenting your pt care better/ more elaborately/ differently than you? What exactly are they changing? Is it something you could/ should change?

As far as mileage goes ... reset your trip odometer on each t/p ...

 

[Sasha]

So, ask yourself if it is worth it? Am I ready to take that stand, if they are not actually putting false info in the report?

They are putting false info on the report if they're changing their mileage. Mapquest mileage isn't accurate, especially if you've taken a different way then the route it's calculating.

 

[socalmedic]

medicare and insurance is very picky on how they pay out, altering how you word your 02 admin can be the difference between $400 (the price for a gurney trip) and $900 (and BLS transport). you must tell them why they needed o2 and how you gave and monitored it. it isnt right for them to be changing it with out you. but they should be teaching you how to do a proper billing PCR. you have to make the lawyers happy and the billing dept happy when you work for a private.

another area where they will cut cost is how the Pt got to the ambulance, if they ambulated to the ambulance they will not pay more than a wheelchair van unless you did ALS2 (2 or more invasive procedures, ie. IV and meds), if you had to lift them to the gurney it is automatic BLS.

 

[Sasha]

you have to make the lawyers happy and the billing dept happy when you work for a private.

Heck no you don't. You have to write an accurate report for each call. Keeping them happy is a hop skip and jump away from falsifying documents and medicare fraud!

 

[socalmedic]

Heck no you don't. You have to write an accurate report for each call. Keeping them happy is a hop skip and jump away from falsifying documents and medicare fraud!

hahahaha, very true. how often have you checked the box "no medical necessity"

if you keep an detailed and accurate narrative, with all of your interventions and why, and how the patient got to the ambulance, billing, lawyers, management will be happy. i absolutely not telling you to say you did anything you didnt or to stretch the truth. if the pt didnt need O2 say that, insted of leaving it out. billing wont change anyting in the narative, but they can add to it.

to the OP, as long as they are only clarifying interventions, then i wouldnt get too worked up. they should be documenting that they changed it so it dosnt come back to you when it goes to court.

 

[katgrl2003]

medicare and insurance is very picky on how they pay out, altering how you word your 02 admin can be the difference between $400 (the price for a gurney trip) and $900 (and BLS transport).

Dang! I help with billing at the private service I work for, and medicare doesn't even come close to those numbers!

 

[EMSLaw]

you have to make the lawyers happy and the billing dept happy when you work for a private.

I can't speak for the billing department, but I think I can confidently speak for the legal department.

The legal department will be very, very unhappy if there is anything untrue or incorrect on your report. They don't need you to use the magic words - they need you to set out everything you did and write a complete report.

But the legal department probably only cares about your report if you get sued as a result of the particular patient contact. Other than the need for the company to make a profit so it stays in business and they can get paid, they probably could care less about your billing.

 

[socalmedic]

@Kat, it may be a regional thing. these are the numbers our billing girls give us, they mean that is what they bill not receive. IDK about your area, but here the county sets the price of what the ambulance can charge. that may make a difference of how Medi-Medi pays out.

@Law, if you are going to quote me like that please keep it in context and quote all of it. at no point did i advocate lying. infact i said to be as complete and accurate as possible...to keep the lawyers happy.

I have no vested interest in the company. i would never lie so that the owner can buy another Porsche (he has a thing for them). I simply do my paperwork in so that I never have to talk to a supervisor (talking to a sup only means bad news).

 

[EMSLaw]

@Law, if you are going to quote me like that please keep it in context and quote all of it. at no point did i advocate lying. infact i said to be as complete and accurate as possible...to keep the lawyers happy.

I didn't say you advocated anything. I just said that the legal department wants a complete, accurate, and truthful report.

Of course, unless and until something goes wrong, they probably won't even know you exist.

 

[MRE]

You should be doing electronic reports by now, As the cut off has passed.

What are these electronic reports and cut off you speak of?

Is that a regional thing? We have good old triple carbon copy sheets and things don't appear to be changing any time soon.