The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a notice alerting providers of a scheme to obtain Medicare patient records. This scheme involves requests faxed to providers for all patient information and medical records of Medicare patients, often demanding information within a 72-hour deadline. These faxes also may include CMS headers in order to appear authentic.
Please be aware that medical record reviews requested by CMS or their contractors will identify specific Medicare beneficiaries, time periods, and encounters or prescription drug event records involved. These requests also typically provide 30–45 days for response.
If you receive a fax that appears to be fraudulent or any other potentially inappropriate requests for Medicare patient information, please report it to CMS through the Health Plan Management System Program Integrity portal.