St. Luke's Boise Medical Center improperly billed the federal Medicare program for some drug injections that resulted in overpayments of about $83,000 to the hospital, according to a recent audit.

The hospital said it has refunded the overpayments.

Federal auditors reviewed a set of six Medicare payments to the hospital between May 2008 and end of August 2011. The payments totaling about $99,000 were for injections of drugs used to treat certain cancers and rapid heart rate. The payments were picked for an audit because they were "potentially at risk for billing errors," said a report from the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The hospital erred by charging Medicare for twice to 10 times as many units as it should have.

The hospital agreed with the findings, telling the Office of Inspector General that the overpayments were due to billing system and clerical errors. St. Luke's said it had refunded the money and made changes to keep such errors from happening again.

"Additionally, the St. Luke's compliance department has identified pharmacy billing units as an area for review during the 2012 calendar year ... to ensure the controls implemented have been effective," said hospital CEO Chris Roth in a Sept. 7, 2012, letter to the office.

Audrey Dutton: 377-6448