Vendor Screening

Why Screen Vendors?

While many organizations are aware that they have to screen their employees and providers, many are not aware that they also need to be screening their vendors and contractors. Just like with excluded providers and individuals, excluded entities may not bill Federal or State Health Care Programs for services ordered or furnished, directly or indirectly, if it is payable in whole or in part, by such Health Care Program.

The Office of Inspector General interprets § 1001.1901(b) from the Code of Federal Regulations as a requirement for providers to screen vendors/contractors and authorizes the imposition of civil money penalties and overpayment exposure “if an excluded person [or entity] participates in any way in the furnishing of items or services payable by a Federal health care program.”

The civil monetary penalties that the OIG has the authority to impose can be up to $21,562.80 for each item or service furnished by the excluded person or entity, as well as assessments of up to three times the amount claimed. 


Just like with individuals, screening entities for exclusions is not only clearing yourself from civil monetary penalties from the Office of Inspector General, but is also mitigating your organization’s overall risk. If a company has been either excluded or sanctioned by GSA, SAM, OFAC, or any other regulating organization, then you are most likely working with an organization that has taken part in fraudulent business activities. The last thing you would want for your organization is to wind up working with a vendor or contractor that could rope you into their fraud.

Exclusion Screening, LLC is proud to offer those interested in trying our product and service a no cost, no obligation TRIAL Period. Our trial is multi-faceted and is aimed to expose the client to as much of our service and product as possible in a short time. The trial starts with a FREE consultation/training that will present an overview of exclusions, a demonstration of our product and service, and a presentation of a personalized solution. The client will also receive access to our SAFER Exclusion Screening system for 14 days in addition to a sample report of up to 20 names.

Screen Vendors

Screen Vendors

Which Vendors Should You Screen?

A constant question we get here at Exclusion Screening is “Which vendors should I screen? Do I need to screen the janitor that cleans up every night? Do I need to screen the laundry service that washes our sheets?” Well, we have some guidance below that the OIG has provided and that we recommend people follow.


The OIG states that its emphasis on screening vendors and contractors for exclusions regards “items or services integral to the provision of patient care.” So what does that mean? We believe that this means that you need to screen any vendor or contractor has access to any of the following four categories below:

 

  1. Patients. If they have access to your patients then they 100% need to be screened.
  2. Financials. This means almost any billing company that you work with NEEDS to be screened.
  3. Patient Facilities. If they are in your facilities at all they need to be screened. The last thing you want is for HIPAA information to be left out in front of someone that has been conducted any sort of fraud. You want to fully know exactly who is in your building and office!
  4. Patient Records. When dealing with patient records, you want to make sure that their information is secure and confidential. That means screening your I.T. services, billing company, and collections company.
Are you unsure your screening requirements depending on your business and location?  Our FREE Consultation includes an overview of exclusions in addition to an overview of your specific requirements and obligations, a demonstration of our product and service (SAFER) will, and a presentation of your personalized solutions. This consultation is a free of charge consultation for your benefit only!


Our Services

 We offer various different forms of screening to ensure that you can thoroughly trust the vendors or contractors you are working with. We can screen vendors and contractors in the following ways:

  • Provider Name. If you want to screen by the name of the owner or owners.
  • Company Name. You can screen by just the name of the company or with the names that the company is doing business as.
  • NPI Number. If you have the provider number then you can just provide us with that and we can provide you with your search results immediately. 
  • Web Services. Automate your vendor’s screen by integrating into our Safer web services. 

To see a full list of every database we can screen, please click here.

 For a free consultation call us at 1(800) 294-0952 or fill out the form below!