Compliance Officer Q&A
By:
David S. Barmak, JD
To gain a better understanding of the scope of an effective corporate compliance and ethics program, consider the question below and its detailed response.
Question: My facility has a corporate compliance and ethics program. I originally thought it would just deal with fraud and abuse, but our compliance attorney has presented a very broad, all-inclusive program. Is this the norm?
Answer: Yes. A corporate compliance and ethics program for healthcare providers has, as its core, an effort to comply with laws and regulations—ALL laws and regulations. The OIG has long touted having a corporate compliance and ethics program to address fraud and abuse laws and regulations; however, the value of an effective corporate compliance and ethics program—to negate the “intent” to commit wrongdoing and thereby avoid criminal penalties—applies to every area involving laws and regulations. For example, employment, privacy, emergency preparedness, documentation, quality care, billing, etc. A truly effective corporate compliance and ethics program is broad-based with its main focus being to assist a healthcare provider in complying with various laws and regulations and to persuade the federal and state governments that if there is any wrongdoing on the part of the healthcare provider, that there was no intent to do so. Mistakes happen, and if there are civil penalties, then so be it. What we do not want is for there to be a finding that there was intent to commit wrongdoing. Such a finding only leads to criminal penalties and debarment from federal and state programs.
Med-Net Podcasts
Check out our latest podcast series, hosted by healthcare attorney and CEO of Med-Net Concepts, David S. Barmak, BA, JD. This series offers listeners another platform for discussing a variety of topics in the healthcare industry and supports our mission to give long-term care and post-acute healthcare providers the power to stay informed while maximizing rewards and minimizing risks.
Our podcasts will launch each month on our Spotify channel HERE.
