This leads us to one final important piece of advice:
Make sure you follow up
It is not uncommon for providers to submit information to auditors and then wait a little while for a response, but we have also heard of communications being lost to spam filters and misspelled email addresses. It’s therefore critical to follow up carefully on any audit request, as there are deadlines attached and financial incentives at risk. In our experience, auditors are not offended by providers “checking in” on the status of their audit, nor are they opposed to clarifying questions. So even though “Big Brother” may be watching, in this case he (or she) has a name and an e-mail address and is willing to answer your questions, should any arise. In summary, audits will happen, but with some preparation as described above, the process will be less intimidating and (hopefully) a lot less work.
Dr. Notte is a family physician and clinical informaticist for Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital. He is a partner in EHR Practice Consultants, a firm that aids physicians in adopting electronic health records. Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia.