Fighting Back: Strategies to Address the RAC Audit Threat

In the search for silver linings in the current dark clouds of Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audits, there is one: this is a situation everyone wants to resolve. Most OP&P practices either have been faced with or are dreading the painful consequences of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) audits that have created great consternation and loss within the orthotic, prosthetic, and pedorthic communities: unsustainable cash flow challenges, a negative impact on the quality and timeliness of patient care, and the often significant financial penalties for the absence of documentation beyond practices’ ability to provide. (Editor’s note: For more about those consequences, see “Under Siege: CMS Audits Take Their Toll” in this issue.)