As a matter of corporate compliance, we follow all applicable Federal, State and County government regulations and the provisions of the Practice's participating agreements with third party payers. Emergency Groups' Office administers its own compliance program that is more stringent than the model compliance program for medical billing companies published by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Furthermore, we adhere to all HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) guidelines. Under Federal regulations, HIPAA requires physicians to ensure they are protecting the privacy and security of patients' medical information and using a standard format when submitting electronic transmissions to payers.

True corporate integrity requires a commitment to doing the right thing the first time and every time. Properly designed quality assurance and process control functions assure that the Company regards the truth of every claim to be its only standard. To that end, the nurse coders are given a rigorous 90-day training program in reimbursement coding before they are allowed to work independently. Each coder assigned to a particular Client has that client's Practice profile of payer contracts so that payer-specific coding rules are carefully followed. Regular quality reviews are performed internally with written evaluations provided for each coder. Coding is also evaluated using independent, external auditors.

In the event of an audit, EGO will vigorously defend its coding choices and represent the Practice through the various levels of appeal. Historically, we have been successful in these audits by relying on existing documentation and a vigorous defense of our coding policies.