Which program do Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) conduct audits on for payment error prevention?

Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) conduct audits specifically under the Program for Evaluation Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) to identify potential payment errors and implement prevention strategies. This program focuses on analyzing billing patterns and ensuring appropriate usage of resources, thus helping to improve the accuracy of claims submitted to Medicare.

PEPPER provides hospitals with data regarding their billing patterns compared to state and national averages and highlights areas where they may be at risk for payment errors. The audits conducted by QIOs utilize the information from PEPPER to identify discrepancies, enhance compliance with billing practices, and ultimately reduce the number of payment errors.

The other programs mentioned serve different purposes. For example, the Hospital Payment Monitoring Program focuses on overall payment mechanisms and trends within hospitals, while Compliance Program Guidance for Hospitals offers guidelines for developing compliance programs but does not directly conduct audits related to payment errors. The Payment Error Prevention Program is more of a general initiative rather than a specific auditing program utilized by QIOs.