The former chief financial officer of a now-closed Texas hospital is one step closer to a potential five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wrongly claiming EHR incentive money. 

 

Joe White, 67, the former CFO of Shelby Regional Medical Center in Center, Texas, pleaded guilty Nov. 12.  

 

According to the original indictment, White, who oversaw the hospital's EHR implementation, falsely attested to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services  that Shelby Regional Medical Center met meaningful use requirements for the 2012 fiscal year, ultimately receiving $785,655 in payments. 

 

[See also: Hospitals wrongly claim EHR cash.]

 

The hospital relied on paper records throughout the fiscal year of 2012 and only minimally used an EHR, according to the indictment. To give the false appearance that the hospital was using MU-certified technology, White directed the software vendor and hospital employees to manually input data from paper records into the electronic health record software, often months after the patient was discharged and after the end of the fiscal year.

 

The indictment further alleged White falsely attested to the hospital's meaningful use by using another person's name and information without that individual's consent or authorization. Shelby Regional closed back in 2013, with its owner Tariq Mahmood, MD, also being investigated for healthcare fraud.

 

In total, the six Texas hospitals operated by Mahmood were paid $16.8 million in meaningful use incentives for fiscal years 2011 and 2012.

 

"As more and more federal dollars are made available to providers to adopt electronic health record systems, our office is expecting to see more cases like this one," said Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General's Dallas Regional Office, in a Feb. 6 press statement, regarding White's indictment. "The Office of Inspector General is committed to protecting the millions of taxpayer dollars used to pay providers to adopt electronic health record systems."

 

To date, CMS has paid eligible providers and hospitals some $25.4 billion for attesting to meaningful use requirements.