Why EP-StaffCheck™?

To prevent unexpected recoupments and refunds (which can quickly reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars), healthcare providers should check all hires before employment, and should also conduct periodic follow-up checks of all employees, contractors, and medical staff. However, the checking of multiple databases through manual searches can be time-consuming and error-prone. EP-StaffCheck™ is a low-cost, highly effective solution which will improve your compliance efforts, and reduce staff costs to perform these checks.

Possible matches will appear on one of three government watch lists:

• OIG (Office of Inspector General)
• GSA EPLS (General Service Administration's Excluded Party List System)
• SDN (Specially Designated Nationals)

Wanting to ensure EP-StaffCheck searches through a particular agency? EP-StaffCheck searches data from a multitude of government agencies containing over 94,000 entries for all persons or businesses who may be excluded from government-funded programs. Click here for a complete list of agencies.

EP-StaffCheck™ Makes Searching Easy:

• Users can perform individual checks in seconds -- no waiting days for results from other services
• Users can create or upload master staff indexes and schedule periodic batch checks of all staff and contractors
• Easily mark individuals that you have cleared, so that they do not appear in your results again unless there is new activity
• Flexible and easy to use, requiring no experience or special training
• Documentation for all searches is generated for immediate printing, and results are also e-mailed to the user
• Makes annual or quarterly batch processing quick and easy (and more likely to be done at all!)
• Automate your staff batch processing, and get weekly or monthly updates on all current staff, vendors, and employees

EP-StaffCheck™ is Accurate and Up-to-Date:

• Searches data from fifty-two government agencies containing over 94,000 entries for all persons or businesses who may be excluded from government-funded programs
• Database changes and updates are automatically performed daily, providing you with the most current information possible
• Easy data entry ensures fewer false negatives and false positives
• Possible matches include detailed information for your review

EP-StaffCheck™ is available in both Web-based and PC-based Applications

• Web version accessible at any computer with a web connection, at any time, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week
• Web version software and data is stored on our server
• Web version requires no software installation, need for data back-ups, or software technical support
• Web users access their data and search preferences through a secure, encrypted, password-protected system
• PC version also available

Request a FREE 14-day TRIAL

Interested? Contact us for more information and a free, 14-day trial of EP-StaffCheck™ for your facility, including toll-free support and web training.

EP-StaffCheck Brochure

Frequently Asked Questions

What agencies does EP-StaffCheck report on?

EP-StaffCheck searches data from a multitude of government agencies containing over 94,000 entries for all persons or businesses who may be excluded from government-funded programs. Click here for a complete list of agencies.

If an employee or contractor is listed as excluded, what do we need to do?

First, you need to verify that the employee or contractor really is a match to the results that were returned. You can do this with a social security match for some databases. If the person really is an excluded party, you need to immediately involve your Compliance Officer and/or Legal Department in researching the implications and steps necessary to become compliant and/or make repayments as necessary.

If we determine that we have contracted with an excluded individual for a short period of time and self-report, what kind of penalties can we expect?

Although there is no definite rule regarding such situations, previous settlements indicate that if a facility has a system for identifying excluded individuals, and identifies and self-reports a problem that is determined through such checking, that penalties are minimal. If the excluded individual was a physician who ordered or performed services, their may be recoupment for funds already received, but the penalty portion is typically mitigated by a facility who exercises a good faith effort to identify excluded individuals or entities.

What are the federal guidelines on determination of penalties?

The law provides for penalties of up to $10,000 for each item or service furnished, or each entry in a cost report, or other documentation used to support a claim for federal program (including state Medicaid program) reimbursement. The law also provides for an assessment of up to three times the amount claimed for each item or service. There is also a guideline that in most cases the amount of the penalty should not be less than twice the approximated amount of damages and costs sustained by the government, including investigation costs, prosecution, and administrative case review. To view recent OIG settlement summaries, visit Civil Monetary Penalties

Should we be verifying the criminal background on all employees and medical staff also? What about checking for bankruptcies and civil judgments?

You should only go to the effort and expense of gathering this information if you have a credentialing/employment process that will make use of this information. If you do not have a clear criteria for when and how such information should be evaluated, then trying to gather it will be expensive, time-consuming, and may lead to complaints of subjective evaluation, discrimination, restraint of trade, etc. You must have a clear, legally defensible policy if you wish to be more restrictive than that. As an example, to do a complete criminal background check, you must query each state's (and in some cases multiple jurisdiction within a state) records department. And if you receive records back (which are often not complete), you should have a clear policy on how to treat a DUI from 20 years ago, an arrest but no charges filed for domestic violence, and a bankruptcy from 2 years ago, and a justification for why such behavior is deemed relevant to their expected practice of medicine in your facility. If you collect information that you do not use, remember also that such information could be used against you in a civil case (for example, a physician with a history of DUI is accused of committing malpractice while intoxicated, and an attorney argues that you had reason to know and greater obligation to monitor). Remember that as a general rule, if you ask for or use information, you are generally under an obligation to use such information in a consistent manner. Although this is a policy and legal issue for each facility to address, a good rule of thumb is not to collect information that you do not have a clear and objective policy for evaluating.

Does this replace the NPDB (National Practitioner Data Bank)?

No, you should still perform routine queries of the NPDB and the medical boards granting licensure.

We receive the exclusion information as an added subscription to our NPDB queries. Is there any reason to run EP-StaffCheck also?

Although the NPDB offers an additional service to check exclusion information, the costs are approximately $3.25 per physician per year. EP-StaffCheck is more economical for most facilities. Additionally, the NPDB does not offer exclusion checking for your non-practitioner employees, or for your vendors.

Do we need to check employees and vendors if they are not involved in direct patient care?

Yes. The prohibition against contracting with an excluded entity extends to administrative and/or management services that are not direct patient care, but that are a necessary component of the overall services being provided to federal program beneficiaries. Federal program funds include those received via claims submission, cost reports, fee schedules, pass-through costs and other payment systems that are ultimately funded at least in part by federal dollars.

Is there any legal way for us to employ or contract with an excluded party?

The only permissible way to conduct business with an excluded party is to establish a system to ensure that the items or services are paid for exclusively with private, non-federal funding sources, and that the items or services are related only to non-federal program patients. Such costs may not be included on cost reports or other similar documentation or requests for reimbursement.

Pricing and Subscription Information

We don't believe in charging you for every check you perform in our system. We want to encourage facilities to perform checks on a regular basis, so that they are very quickly made aware of any potential exclusions - thus avoiding large repayments. In fact, we recommend that clients run at least a monthly batch check on all of their staff, providers, and contractors. Why? Because it takes no extra time to do it, and costs you nothing extra.

Annual subscription, per facility:

• $495 for unlimited transactions, unlimited users (WEB Version)