eClinicalWorks, LLC, a software company that paid $155 million last year to settle false claims allegations for misrepresenting its meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) and causing providers to do the same, has paid a $132,000 “stipulated penalty” for failing to report certain patient-safety issues to the HHS Office of Inspector General, as required by its corporate integrity agreement (CIA).

eClinicalWorks entered into the five-year CIA when it settled the false claims lawsuit. According to the false claims complaint, the company allegedly “obtained its EHR certifications through a series of false statements.” The software was used by providers who had received Medicare and Medicaid payments to advance adoption of interoperable EHRs, which is the goal of the EHR incentive payment program (RMC 6/19/17, p. 5). But eClinicalworks’ EHR system fell short, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont said in their complaint in intervention.