Situation: Olivia began working for Dr. Smith three months ago as…

Question Answered step-by-step Situation: Olivia began working for Dr. Smith three months ago as… Situation: Olivia began working for Dr. Smith three months ago as an administrative medical assistant and was given the responsibility to handle the medical billing for the practice. Accepting the position with Dr. Smith seemed almost too good to be true. She is allowed to work a flexible, hourly schedule; she received a pay increase from her previous job as a medical biller for 3 years with another physician; and she will be eligible to participate in the practice’s profit-sharing plan after one year.About two months ago, Olivia began to wonder about some of the charges listed on occasional encounter forms. Lately, however, after more careful observation, she is almost certain that the physician is identifying charges that are not actually being done. For example, she knew of three instances last week for urinalysis that were charged but not actually performed. She also could think of at least four instances in which comprehensive office visits were charged, but the provider was with the patient for less than 5 minutes each.Olivia likes her job very much and feels like a valuable employee, but she is very concerned about these billing irregularities. How do you think it should be handled by Olivia? How would you initiate a conversation with the physician to discuss this situation? Do you think this is an ethical or legal problem? Health Science Science Nursing NURSPRCT 945 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)