Becker's Hospital Review

68 CIO / HEALTH IT Patient recruiter gets 10-year prison sentence for telemedicine fraud By Ayla Ellison A patient recruiter in Florida was sentenced April 14 to 10 years in prison for his role in a genetic testing and telemedicine scheme that resulted in approximately $3.3 million in fraudulent claims submitted to Medi- care, the U.S. Justice Department said. Ivan Andre Scott, 36, of Kissimmee, Fla., was sentenced about three months after he was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and receiving unlawful kickbacks. Evidence at trial showed that Mr. Scott, who owned a telemarketing call center in Orlando, called Medicare beneficia- ries and falsely told them that Medicare covered cancer-screening genetic test- ing. After beneficiaries agreed to take the tests, which cost as much as $6,000, evidence showed that Mr. Scott paid bribes and kickbacks to telemedicine companies to get physician's orders authorizing the tests. Telemedicine physicians approved the tests without treating the patients for cancer or cancer symptoms, and many times without even speaking to them, according to evidence presented at trial. Of the $3.3 million in fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare as a result of the scheme, Medicare paid more than $1.3 million, according to the Justice Department. "The defendant used telemarketing and telemedicine to defraud Medicare of more than a million dollars for unnec- essary genetic-screening tests," acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas McQuaid of the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a news release. "The department will continue working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who seek to use new technologies to plunder our gov- ernment health care programs." n Kaiser Permanente names chief information technology officer By Kelly Gooch D iane Comer was chosen as chief information technology offi- cer of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, the organiza- tion said April 7. Ms. Comer served as interim CIO since June 2020. She also previously led Kaiser Permanente Health Plan's IT organization. "Kaiser Permanente continues to reimagine ways to expertly, innovative- ly and conveniently provide care for our members, and doing so during this time demands that we work with unprecedented agility and speed while always prioritizing equity, quality and affordability," Kaiser Perma- nente Chair and CEO Greg Adams said in a news release. "As we prog- ress on this journey, I am pleased that Diane's innovative thinking, deep expertise and intimate knowledge of Kaiser Permanente will drive our technology leadership." Ms. Comer joined Kaiser Permanente in 2007, after serving in positions at Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., including chief technology officer. She holds a bachelor's degree in management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. n What risks do vaccine passports pose? 2 hospital CIOs weigh in By Katie Adams C OVID-19 vaccine passports raise concerns about data privacy, fraud, personal choice and equity, according to the CIOs of Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Bronson Healthcare and Seattle Children's. Several private companies are developing COVID-19 vaccine passports, machine-read- able digital passes that store individuals' COVID-19 vaccination records and test re- sults. But, several governors have banned or voiced their opposition to such passports in March and April. COVID-19 passports are designed to standardize the process of proving one's immuni- zation status. Ash Goel, MD, senior vice president and CIO of Bronson Healthcare, said "the variability of paper processes and gaps in exchange standards" can lead to a lack of efficiency and transparency." Dr. Goel, however, did clarify he does not think mandating such passports is the way to go. "It has to be coupled with an individual's personal choice and control," he said. Zafar Chaudry, MD, senior vice president and CIO at Seattle Children's, said he thought COVID-19 passports are a good idea in principle, noting they're "certainly better than carrying a piece of paper." He also pointed out that the passes are already being used at a national level in Israel, and other countries, such as the U.K., are considering them. While noting that COVID-19 passports could facilitate travel, events and the safe open- ing of the economy, Dr. Chaudry said the passes pose certain risks. For example, he said the passports could perpetuate the dangerous assumption that vaccinated individuals don't spread COVID-19. Dr. Chaudry also explained how the passes discriminate against poor and nonwhite Americans because they could give vaccinated people the ability to do things that un- vaccinated people can't. He also noted his concerns regarding privacy issues and the potential of fraud, as "any technology can be hacked or replicated." n

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