What not to do when being audited by Medicare

When physicians receive a Medicare audit request and realize that their documentation isn't so good or even non-existent, many are tempted to recreate or alter medical record documentation. But this is probably the worst thing you can do in this situation, according to physician law blogger Todd A. Rodriguez. Poor or even non-existent medical record documentation is not necessarily an indicator of fraud or abuse, and in many cases it is simply an indication of the need for documentation and coding education or better record keeping protocols, he says.