OIG: Laboratory Stewardship is Mandatory

“Laboratory Stewardship sounds like a good thing but I really don’t have time and there’s more important things to do”.  Maybe you haven’t heard those exact words – but if you’re trying to convince others to support laboratory stewardship initiatives perhaps these thoughts entered the minds of those you’re trying to convince.  When trying to start a stewardship program sometimes the biggest hurdle is convincing others it should be done.  What supporting evidence is out there to help gain support?

Enter the Office of Inspector General (OIG).  The OIG is the federal agency that monitors possible fraud in claims being submitted to Medicare and Medicaid.  Per the OIG 1998 Guidelines for Clinical Laboratory Compliance, Laboratory Stewardship is mandatory and failure to ensure medical necessity of tests being billed to the government could lead to civil and criminal penalties.

I wrote an article that was just published in the January 2023 edition of ASCP’s Journal Critical Values covering OIG requirements for laboratory stewardship as a component of a mandatory compliance program.  Maybe next time you need help convincing others to support stewardship, these documents will be useful.

CLICK HERE FOR PAPER- https://criticalvalues.org/news/item/2023/01/05/office-of-inspector-general-laboratory-stewardship-is-mandatory