Little Health Law Blog
Our healthcare law firm works with many providers who prescribe medications, including controlled substances. A question that comes up is what a provider’s reporting obligations to the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) are when they discover that controlled substances have been stolen from their office or that prescriptions for controlled substances have been fraudulently submitted to patients under their names. This blog covers two considerations that providers should account for when they are notified of theft or fraudulent prescriptions. Please note that this blog post covers reporting obligations to the DEA, not any reporting obligations to state agencies. If you need assistance reporting theft or fraudulent prescriptions to the appropriate sources or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.
First Consideration: The DEA Requires Providers to Report Theft of Controlled Substances and Fraudulent Prescriptions to the DEA Within One Business Day of Discovery of the Theft or Fraudulent Prescriptions
Under the DEA regulations, a provider must notify the local DEA Field Diversion Office in writing of any theft or significant loss of any controlled substances within one business day Continue reading ›
This is the second post in a series related to the Pretrial Diversion Program in Georgia. The first post provided an 
Our healthcare and business law firm works with many providers and other professionals who have been arrested and charged with misdemeanors. Our clients will, of course, hire criminal defense counsel to handle the criminal proceedings but professionals generally hire our firm navigate the professional consequences of an arrest. Many of our clients are first time offenders who are presented with the option of participating in a pretrial diversion program. Whether to participate in such a program should be discussed with criminal defense counsel. This is the first blog post of two on this subject, and it focuses on providing an overview of the Pretrial Diversion Programs in Georgia and the potential impact on a successful participant’s criminal record. The second post will focus on how successful completion may impact a participant’s professional responsibilities thereafter responding to questions relating to the offense on employment, licensing, and credentialing applications. If you have questions regarding this blog post or 
Many of our healthcare and business law firm’s clients periodically face audits by insurance companies or governmental organizations, usually through a contractor. Audits can be unnerving times for a practice to go through. This blog post outlines 3 tips for handling an insurance audit. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare recently published that the flexibilities allowed during COVID-19 will soon end and practices should ensure compliant safety and billing practices. As a result of this change after two and half years, practices may see increased audits. If you have questions regarding this blog post or 
Many of our healthcare and business law firm’s clients are in the business of renting expensive medical equipment for use by medical practices. Generally, these arrangements raise compliance questions under 
to audit providers suspected of fraud. UPIC contracts combine Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPIC’s) and Medicaid Integrity Contractors (MIC’s) to coordinate Medicare and Medicaid auditing. UPIC’s focus primarily on Medicare claims, and seek to distinguish between provider billing errors or fraud.