According to the report, EHR technology may make it easier to commit healthcare fraud because handwriting styles and other attributes that help corroborate the authenticity of paper medical records are largely absent in EHRs. Additionally, tracing authorship and documentation in an EHR may not be as straightforward as tracing in a paper medical record because EHR software features can be used to mask true authorship.
Even though EHRs may make it easier for healthcare fraud to be committed, CMS and its contractors have not adjusted their practices for identifying and investigating fraud in EHRs, according to the report.
The OIG report said “Few contractors reviewed EHRs differently from paper medical records. Also, not all contractors reported being able to identify copied language or overdocumentation” in EHRs.
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