The new titles, Medicaid Fraud Enforcement and E-Medical Records Compliance, expand the series' broad coverage of healthcare compliance issues and were written by health law analysts at CCH, publisher of numerous products for healthcare compliance professionals, such as CCH Health Care Compliance Reporter, The Health Care Compliance Professional's Manual and the Journal of Health Care Compliance.

Other topics covered in the 107-course series for healthcare include HIPAA compliance, Stark and anti-kickback, EMTALA, billing and coding, payment issues, managed care, medical records, cost reports, Medicare Part D, and patient rights to name a few. All of the courses developed on the CourseAvenue platform adhere to industry standards, such as AICC and SCORM, making publication and launching of the eComply series on learning management systems seamless.

"The addition of these titles demonstrates CCH's commitment to the healthcare community by providing relevant and up-to-date compliance training", said Joe Gorup, CEO of CourseAvenue.
"We're proud to partner with a leading information provider in the industry to offer eLearning compliance training to healthcare professionals when they need it."

Healthcare providers are increasingly moving from paper records and implementing electronic medical records (EMR) systems. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, electronic medical records allow for comprehensive management of medical information and its secure exchange between healthcare consumers and providers. EMRs can help improve patient safety and reduce costs. Despite the benefits of EMRs, however, they also increase a provider's exposure to liability resulting from unauthorized access.


When implementing EMR systems, providers must ensure that their organizations are in compliance with state statutes and the HIPAA privacy and security rules. In addition, providers must be aware of state statutes, exceptions to Stark and anti-kickback rules, and other issues related to populating the medical record and using software features that may be problematic. E-Medical Records Compliance introduces healthcare professionals to the risks and benefits of using EMRs.

The Medicaid Integrity Program is the first national strategy to combat fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program. The federal government has appropriated millions of dollars for content management systems to implement the program. With increased funding available, Medicaid providers should expect increased audits and enforcement activity.

As part of the government's focus on detecting and preventing Medicaid fraud and abuse, the Medicaid law now requires entities making or receiving annual Medicaid payments of $5 million or more to establish policies to inform their employees, contractors, and agents about state and federal false-claims laws, whistleblower protections, and the entity's own policies for detecting and preventing fraud and abuse.

The new Medicaid Fraud Enforcement lesson describes the Medicaid Integrity Program. It also addresses the federal False Claims Act, explains how it can affect providers, identifies specific risk areas, and provides examples of what providers can do to mitigate risks.

"Combining the CourseAvenue eLearning system with CCH's authoritative information creates an unmatched compliance resource that will help busy professionals stay current with issues and requirements with ease and confidence", noted Susan Smith, JD, MA, the CCH healthcare compliance coordinator.

Healthcare organizations have the ability to tailor eComply courses to their individual needs through CourseAvenue's hybrid development approach. The series' authors have identified specific elements of the off-the-shelf courseware as consumer editable, allowing for custom introductions, the addition of local policies and procedures, and the incorporation of a healthcare organization's branding into their courses.