Accurate documentation, correct coding, and compliance: it's your best defense!

This article focuses on the need for physicians to maintain an awareness of regulatory policy and the law impacting the federal government's medical insurance programs, and to internalize and apply this knowledge in their practices. Basic information concerning selected fraud and abuse statutes and the civil monetary penalties and sanctions for noncompliance is discussed. The application of accurate documentation and correct coding principles, as well as the rationale for implementating an effective compliance plan in order to prevent fraud and abuse and/or minimize disciplinary action from government regulatory agencies, are emphasized.