It's that time of year again when the leaves are changing colors and, with the advent of autumn, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Work Plan.

The OIG Work Plan provides a broad description of the focus areas for the OIG in the coming fiscal year. This is the first in a series of articles addressing potential risk areas that providers should consider addressing in their

compliance plans. This article focuses on the Work Plan provisions affecting hospital providers, including both new and continuing OIG initiatives.