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Tackling health fraudsters
06/10/2009
Scotland's "particularly innovative" approach to tackling healthcare fraud has been praised at a major international conference.
Fraudsters are depriving European healthcare systems of up to 100 billion euros every year, according to the European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network (EHFCN), which is in Edinburgh for its annual gathering.
This year's conference is focusing on cross-border fraud, including so-called 'health tourism', where people travel to other countries to get treatment to which they are not entitled.
Other examples of healthcare fraud common across Europe include:
- Claiming for medical, surgical or dental work which has not been done
- Patients falsifying their income to receive free or discounted healthcare
- Health professionals creating details of patients who do not exist and claiming for treating these 'ghost' patients
Scotland has shown a strong lead by setting up NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services (CFS), with every NHS body in Scotland having identified an NHS 'counter fraud champion' to promote an anti-fraud culture in their organisations.
Since the CFS's establishment in 2000, there have been fraud savings to the NHS of more than £21 million. As well as promoting an 'awareness culture', the CFS works closely with the UK Border Agency and the police.
Mike Russell, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, said:
"With European governments spending around one trillion euros on healthcare annually, it's no surprise that fraudsters try to target these public services.
"They may be siphoning off as much as 100 billion euros across Europe, which in Scotland would build more than 290 hospitals or fund our entire NHS for around eight years.
"NHS fraud takes many forms but its results are always the same - patients lose out and taxpayers get ripped off.
"Scotland takes a zero-tolerance approach and our NHS counter-fraud strategy has already allowed us to make £21 million in net savings for the NHS. "
Paul Vincke, President of the EHFCN, said:
"We are happy to have chosen Scotland as the venue for our sixth Annual Conference.
"Our Scottish members have always proven very active and motivated in their fight against healthcare fraud and particularly innovative in their strategy to tackle it.
"We hope that the presence of our European network will give further prominence to the fight against NHS fraud and deliver a clear message that will deter fraudsters from challenging an increasingly stronger and collective European will to counter healthcare fraud.
"We look forward to sharing ideas and learning from the experiences of our Scottish members, for the benefit of the entire network."
The European Healthcare Fraud & Corruption Network is dedicated to combating healthcare fraud and corruption across Europe. It provides information, tools, training and assistance to its member organisations and offers a platform to exchange information and ideas. Both the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services are members. Losses to healthcare fraud and corruption annually across Europe are estimated at between 30 and 100 billion euros.
NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services is launching a multimedia public information campaign next spring to raise awareness among the general public, many of whom may have little or no awareness of the detrimental impact that fraud has on the NHS in Scotland.