Healthicity Blog

1. Influencer not Enforcer: How to Avoid the Dreaded Corporate Cop Image

When it comes to compliance, sometimes image is everything. How you’re perceived in your organization can either work for you or against you.

We all could use some advice every now and then, especially in the world of healthcare compliance.

Though many CIAs read very similarly, it’s good practice to read new ones to reaffirm some of the core principles of an effective compliance program.

In May of 2017, two Southwest Missouri health care organizations agreed to pay the United States $34,000,000 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in inappropriate financial relationships with referring physicians, wrote the US Department of Justice.

The OIG has added some more items to their work plan for this month, October 2017. Some of these new items may interest you. Staying informed is a large part of maintaining an effective compliance program.

You probably already know that Auditing and Monitoring is one of the seven elements of an effective compliance program. But did you know that it’s so important the OIG considers it to be key for maintaining compliance?

“Any company or individual receiving anything of value in exchange for referrals should understand that their actions may have serious legal and financial consequences.”

Those of you who have been following my work on the Healthicity blog, my webinars and/or speaking engagements know that one of my topics of choice is the government's increased efforts to hold individuals, not just organizations, accountable for suspected non-compliance.