Corporate Compliance may start at the top, but it requires cooperation from the entire organization, including board, senior leadership, personnel, stakeholders and vendors. Beginning with the Board of Directors and senior leadership, compliance trickles down through internal controls, billing, and even to patients. Your board and senior leaders have a duty to provide oversight for codes of conduct, policies and procedures, infrastructure, violations and quality. Once the foundation for compliance is in place, the organization has the ability to decide on the best structure to support workflow, risk controls, and communications necessary to manage compliance activities.
Implementing an effective Corporate Compliance Program is key for staying current with home health and hospice regulations and everyone in your organization must be educated and informed. When focusing on a solid Corporate Compliance Program, organizations must know the mission, goals and objectives of the organization. Once determined, it is important to start with implementing appropriate written policies, procedures and standards of conduct. They are at the center of your program. For an effective Corporate Compliance Program, there are certain policies that must be in place. An example of some policies to include:
• Company mission, values and vision statement
• Privacy and security policy - HIPAA
• Code of conduct and ethical behavior
• Conflict of interest
• Compliant marketing and sales practices
Once you have the basics in place, it is essential for the Board of Directors to create a Corporate Compliance Committee (CCC) and to appoint a Corporate Compliance Officer (CCO). An effective CCO should be a senior-level executive with access to the highest levels of the organization and should possess excellent management and communication skills. Because the role demands several duties, the position may be full time. Starting with the basics may seem simple, yet, for many organizations, this is a key area to “re-tool.”
Corporate Compliance and Ethics week is coming up! This is a great opportunity to learn about activities and programs to begin the path to continuing professional education thanks to the Health Care Compliance Association, HCCA. Corporate Compliance and Ethics week will be in full swing May 6-12! For more information about this special week visit HCCA online.
TCG experts are here to assist. For more detailed information, our Corporate Compliance Program Essentials Guides for Home Health and Hospice are available at store.corridorgroup.com, or feel free to contact us at (866) 263-3795. Depend on TCG to be your trusted business partner for compliance!
