Do you, as a laboratory compliance officer, want to spare your employer the disruption, expense, and burden of a government enforcement action? The answer, of course, is “yes.” The most effective and efficient way of doing so is to take steps to reduce the likelihood that a whistleblower will bring a qui tam action against your laboratory. Why? Because most government enforcement actions begin with the filing of a qui tam complaint by a whistleblower. And laboratories have been the subject of many qui tam cases.

What Is the Role of Whistleblowers in Health Care Enforcement?

Reports issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirm that the vast majority of cases that it has opened since 2008 have been the result of qui tam complaints. These cases are brought to the government by those with knowledge about conduct that they deem to be fraudulent. These complaints are authorized by the federal False Claims Act, which encourages the filing of such suits through the promise to whistleblowers of a share of the federal recovery, usually in the range of 15 percent to 30 percent. These payments to whistleblowers are known as whistleblower’s share.