A 2007 investigation allegedly found nurses at WakeMed’s Heart Center Observation Area routinely ignored physicians’ classification orders for patients. As a result, the hospital allegedly received millions of dollars from Medicare for patients who were wrongly classified under inpatient status.
The investigation also found that WakeMed had the highest rate of zero-day Medicare billings in the state, according to the report. Zero-day billings are charges for patients whose admissions lasted less than a day.
WakeMed President and CEO Bill Atkinson told the Charlotte News & Observer the hospital misinterpreted complicated federal Medicare guidelines, but also said he did not want to “minimize it,” according to the report.
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