In the opinion, the OIG said that providing this service does not risk the civil monetary penalties under the federal anti-kickback statue’s prohibition on inducing referrals as the service falls under an exception to this prohibition, as it promotes the delivery of preventative services.
The OIG also says nurses should advise patients with abnormal readings to see their regular healthcare provider.
The hospital to which the opinion was issued is a small, county-owned critical access hospital that provided blood pressure checks to any visitor who visited the facility in the daylight hours, according to the opinion. The free blood pressure check is provided without conditions and is not contingent on the visitor’s use of any other goods or services from the hospital. Visitors are also not offered discounts on follow-up services.
Read the OIG’s advisory opinion on a critical access hospital’s providing of free blood pressure screenings (pdf).
Read the AHA’s release on the OIG’s advisory opinion.
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