Question

Fraud and abuse is a major concern in the healthcare industry what would you do if you learn the first hand that your boss was involved in an ethical reimbursement practices

Answer 1

Fraud and abuse is a major problem, not only in the healthcare industry, but also in the other industries. Though fraud and abuse both are unethical, but they are different kind of practice and may or may not have similar treatments.

Now, our approach after learning first hand that our boss is involved in an unethical reimbursement practices should be on the safe side. Considering the not so strong whistleblower policies and laws, we should take care that our job is not lost and life further should not become miserable. According to me, the following measures can help us to solve the situation -

1. Firstly, we should not blindly believe on what anyone says. We should try to gather facts and evidences of such unethical practices on our own account.

2. Evidence could be documented, electronic or in any recorded form so as to prove the practice in a legal dispute.

3. If possible, try to merge other employees to stand with you against your boss. More number of voices will have huge and different impact.

4. Report to the responsible authority or government agency / department about such unethical practice along with collected evidence.

5. While reporting to the respective authority, one should be careful that your identity remains confidential and request the responsible officers not to disclose your identity so as to avoid any future threats from your boss.

6. In case, above measures are not effective, you can also consider changing your job, if possible. It all depends on your conscience, that whether you can accept any fraud or abuse in your employment.