Physicians often have to sign complicated employment agreements that include restrictive covenants. They may not be able to work a second job. Still, those working for small companies or their own professional practice might diversify their income by taking a part-time position with another healthcare organization.
Telehealth jobs can be a convenient way to diversify the income stream for a physician. They can set their own hours and meet remotely with patients as a means of supplementing their income from their primary job. Unfortunately, telehealth scams have been on the rise in recent years.
There have been multiple cases in which companies and individual doctors have faced prosecution and licensing consequences because of telehealth operations. The following are some of the warning signs of telehealth fraud that physicians should watch out for if they accept a new position.
Cold-calling unscheduled patients
The idea of trying to provide healthcare to someone who has not requested it may seem foreign to those who hold themselves to high ethical standards. However, buying potential patient information is a common practice by companies running scams. If physicians receive a list of patients to call to schedule appointments, that can be a warning sign that the company that hired them may engage in unethical and illegal conduct.
Pay based on referrals or prescriptions
Some telehealth programs specifically make their money by recommending certain types of treatments, sending patients to specific facilities or connecting them with medical equipment. They may not even need those services in some cases. If a telehealth company provides compensation based on the number of referrals or prescriptions a physician makes, that can be an indicator of a fraudulent business.
Inappropriate billing practices
Companies can disclose details during training that can be warning signs of fraud. For example, they may instruct a physician to claim that a no-show patient showed up for a digital appointment but that the connection was bad as a means of billing at least partially for a service not actually rendered. Other times, they may tell a doctor to bill sessions provided via telehealth services in a specific way to maximize what the company receives from private insurance or Medicare. Individual doctors may be at risk of prosecution for their involvement in telehealth schemes even if they don’t directly profit from the company’s misconduct.
Those accused of unethical or illegal behavior could also be at risk of losing their medical license. Being aware that some employment opportunities may offer more risk than benefits can help physicians preserve the careers they have spent countless hours and huge amounts of money developing.