Bernard J. Ford

He also has significant expertise in assisting clients manage issues and investigations related to clinical research. Bernie has significant experience in matters involving cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, orthopedic surgery, behavioral health, and substance use disorder, among others.

He has led projects involving academic medical centers, hospitals and health systems, ambulatory surgery centers, long term acute care hospitals, inpatient rehab facilities, skilled nursing facilties, home health agencies, and hospice care. He has conducted many investigations involving pharmacy and laboratory operations and billing.

Bernie has served as an expert witness, participated in numerous negotiations with the government and assisted counsel in the preparation and delivery of voluntary disclosures and refunds to the government. He is highly adept at creating financial damages methodologies and skilled in statistical methods used in large fraud investigations. He has used the knowledge gained in defending clients to assist in developing compliance programs and policies and procedures designed to promote compliant practices, to detect noncompliance, and to mitigate potential liability where noncompliance is identified. Bernie has assisted companies in developing both compliance monitoring and auditing programs and has served as an IRO on numerous occasions since the inception of the CIA process, the first being in 1997. He currently serves as the OIG-appointed Quality Monitor for a large U.S. health system. His service to clients often requires preparing analyses and findings for presentation to and discussion with executive management, Boards of Directors, regulators, and enforcement agencies including delivering expert testimony.