Healthicity Blog

It’s always interesting to hear a doctor’s perspective on compliance, but it’s even more interesting when that doctor happens to be the OIG’s Chief Medical Officer. I had the pleasure of hearing her, Julie Taitsman, MD, JD, speak at the HCCA’s Regional Compliance Conference this May in New York...

Often, compliance officers are left alone in their own department to do their own things. It can become a little isolating. So, it’s always important to find a trusted person to talk with about compliance issues.

Compliance officers have a lot to juggle. Incident management, internal auditing and monitoring, and enforcing standards, are just a few of the things you need to master. Plus, it seems like new guidelines are emerging from every corner.

“…let me be clear: healthcare fraud is a priority for the Department of Justice,” is how Kenneth Blanco, acting Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, began his speech on May 18, 2017, at the Institute on Health Care Fraud of the American Bar Association.

One of my favorite sayings is that “bedside manner matters.” This comes from my background as a physician. At the end of the day, being knowledgeable doesn’t mean that you work well with people. As a compliance officer, it’s important that you work well with people.

In my newest episode of Compliance Conversations, I sat down with Attorney, Sean McKenna, for an enlightening chat about how healthcare organizations can beef up their compliance programs to avoid enforcement action.

When you discuss the compliance aspect of conflicts of interests with physicians, if it’s anything like my experience, it might go something like this:

There are a lot of great tools on the market nowadays that can make your workday a lot easier. Investing in the right tools frees up a lot of your time to work on compliance issues. Instead of spending your time tracking down emails and sign in sheets.