Looking back in time, the compliance field owes a lot to the healthcare industry. In the 1990s, there was a dramatic explosion in the industry in response to aggressive federal enforcement programs and increasing regulation. All of a sudden, compliance officers who sat in the backrooms of legal departments were “volunteered” to address proactive compliance. Federal regulators pushed the compliance function to assume a much...
Corporate compliance programs in the healthcare industry include many of the same elements that we are all familiar with – risk assessments, code of ethics, written policies and procedures, comprehensive training requirements, confidential reporting and investigation systems to address employee concerns, gifts, meals, grants, and medical education programs, and audit and review processes to maintain a continuous improvement program. Aside from this standard list of...
If you are a compliance officer for a healthcare provider (e.g. hospital, HMO, skilled nursing facility, hospice center), you must sometimes feel that no one understands or feels your pain. When you consider the number and extent of risks, it can be mind-boggling. I am sure there are times that compliance officers in the healthcare industry look wistfully or even with envy at a compliance...
March 1, 2017, 12 Noon EST Sign up HERE The Justice Department continues to reap great benefits from its aggressive False Claims Act — civil and criminal — enforcement program. 2016 was another multi-billion dollar year for False Claims Act recoveries, especially against healthcare providers, hospitals, skilled nursing and hospice facilities. The Supreme Court also delivered an important decision on False Claims Act implied certification...
Charitable organizations can easily become enmeshed in Justice Department enforcement issues. We have seen charities used in FCPA cases as a means to funnel bribes to government officials, spouses or family members. In the domestic world of drugs and anti-kickback laws, drug company relationships with patient foundations are now being examined for possible violation of anti-kickback laws. Government scrutiny of drug prices is occurring on...
Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.~ Vince Lombardi Like so many areas in life, a successful ethics and compliance program depends on teamwork. My last two postings, Parts 4 and 5, will highlight these essential partners – senior leadership and key compliance functions. In a company culture, teamwork...
We all know the jokes about lawyers – I have to repeat just one of them: Q. Why won’t sharks eat lawyers? A. Professional courtesy. The Chief Legal Officer is a vital player in a corporate compliance program. There is no question about this issue. However, lawyers can get a little defensive and insecure (no, really?) when they are not the center of attention, or viewed...
It is good to be an optimist. I am sure that optimistic people are happier, more loving and tend to live longer. All of this rings true. But not everyone is an angel, and not everyone at your company is a “good person.” When we refer to someone as a “good person,” that is our gut instinct speaking about our specific interactions with a person....
If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself. — Albert Einstein Compliance professionals are in a heady state these days. Their stock is rising; they are gaining influence and authority, and even some additional resources. When given the time, compliance professionals can come up with new and innovative strategies for compliance programs. But I see a danger lurking in the...
Lauren Connell of The Volkov Law Group joins us again for a posting about corruption and gifts and hospitality. Her profile is here and she can be reached at [email protected]. Laws and regulations draw black lines in often-gray areas. That is their purpose; they exist to make it easier to tell what is “wrong” and what is “right” (as defined by whoever made the law)....
