The System for Award Management (SAM) is an official website of the U.S. government. Managed by the General Services Administration (GSA), SAM.gov is free for entities to:
- Register to do business with the U.S. government
- Update or renew their entity registration
- Check the status of an entity registration
- Search for entity registration and exclusion records
The SAM database is used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for procurement, but they are only one of many entities to do so. The SAM database is one of the most comprehensive provider status databases available.
Does SAM.gov Have the Same Data Found in the OIG?
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a separate list of exclusions called the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE). This list is maintained by HHS OIG and “provides information to the healthcare industry, patients and the public regarding individuals and entities currently excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other Federal healthcare programs.” It protects the federal government, taxpayers, and healthcare institutions from fraud and abuse by providing a comprehensive list of excluded individuals.
SAM contains the majority of OIG LEIE exclusions. The Healthcare Index Report found 98% of the OIG excluded individuals from the OIG in SAM. However, in addition to OIG exclusions such as active, pending, disbarred, or suspended registrants, the SAM database also includes debarment information from other federal agencies besides OIG. The LEIE is limited to only include OIG exclusions. For a comprehensive view of provider statuses and histories, multiple databases should be monitored.
What Is Comprehensive Monitoring and Screening?
Entities and individuals found on SAM.gov can pose serious risk to patients as well as legal and reputational risk to the organizations that hire and retain them since these individuals have been convicted of fraud or have had serious government contract issues. It’s prudent to check SAM.gov at least once a month to search for potential red flags, but SAM.gov is insufficient by itself. An organization’s best chance at detecting practitioners who are skilled in evading detection is to check each individual frequently against multiple databases.
SAM is one of the more than 5,000 primary sources that Verisys checks as part of our Fraud Abuse Control Information System (FACIS), allowing organizations a singular view into thousands of records of providers and entities. FACIS is the most comprehensive data set for screening and monitoring healthcare providers to ensure compliance and to protect against financial and reputational risk.
Other lists that FACIS monitors include:
- OIG
- FDA
- DEA
- TRICARE
- FBI
- U.S. DOJ
- U.S. Treasury Dept.
- U.S. State Dept.
- All state-level Federal Healthcare Entitlement Program (FHEP) sources
- State Medicaid Exclusions
- State Contractor Disqualification/Debarment Lists
- HEAT Task Force News
- State Attorney General News
- Federal District- Attorney General News
- Medicare/Medicaid Opt-Out Lists
Verisys has been collecting data on providers from these and many other primary sources since 1992, providing the most expansive background data in the industry for providers. FACIS is the gold standard and number one trusted provider database for screening and continuous monitoring against healthcare exclusions, sanctions, debarments, and disciplinary actions.
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Written by Verisys Verisys transforms provider data, workforce data, and relationship management. Healthcare, life science, and background screening organizations rely on our comprehensive solutions to discover their true potential. Visit verisys.com to learn how we turn problems into power.
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