HHS subpoenas ER documents from Community Health Systems

Community Health Systems, Franklin, Tenn., received a subpoena from HHS' inspector general's office seeking documents related to emergency department processes and procedures at all of the company's hospitals, according to a securities filing. The subpoena was dated April 8 and was issued by the inspector general's Chicago office for an investigation into possible improper Medicare and Medicaid claims, according to the filing.

The subpoena requests documents related to Community’s use of the Pro-MED clinical information system, a third-party software system used to manage and track emergency department operations, and its relationships with emergency department physicians, including financial arrangements, according to the filing. The requests are very similar to those made by the Texas attorney general’s office in November regarding all of the company’s hospitals in that state, according to the filing. Community stated in the filing that it does not know whether the subpoena is related to the lawsuit filed April 11 by Tenet Healthcare Corp. in U.S. District Court in Dallas (See story, p. 8). Tenet’s lawsuit alleges that Community’s use of loose admissions criteria turns what should be observation visits into more lucrative inpatient admissions under Medicare.